


The Blind are Leading the Blind

by Sephirotha



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blind Character, Drama, F/M, Leukemia, M/M, Obsession, Stalking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-20
Updated: 2015-11-29
Packaged: 2018-01-20 04:05:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 55,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1495990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sephirotha/pseuds/Sephirotha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stalking someone? Creepy. Stalking an underage girl? Creepier. Stalking an underage girl who is blind and poor? You'd have to be insane to target such a vulnerable person.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

She was so beautiful, so stunningly beautiful.  And it was just so easy.  To sit in the bench right in front of her and watch as she waited for her dog to return to her.  To sketch her perfect image and not cause any suspicion from her.  To follow her home and take his usual hotel room where he had a perfect view of watching her from the apartment she and her sister lived in.  To watch her wherever she went and never ever get caught.  She will never notice him which both pained and relieved him.  She will not acknowledge his presence even if he came and sat down beside her.  The reason being was that his beautiful princess was blind.  Sephiroth smirked happily as he glanced up from his sketchpad to take in Anne’s image.

It all began five years ago when he bumped into her on the street by accident.  She was only ten years old, endearing and charming.  Her guide dog helped her up to her feet when he accidentally knocked her over.  Even though it had been his fault, she apologized to him.  She looked adorable in the summer dress she had been wearing for that particularly hot day and Sephiroth knew she was blind by the way her red eyes weren’t looking directly at him.  They were fixed more onto his chest as she didn’t realise how tall he was.  It looked so enchanting.  And if that didn’t clue him in on her disability, the fact that her guide dog tugged her along to reunite her with her family should have told him everything.  Sephiroth felt transfixed, as if she had cast a spell on him to make sure he would forever remember and obsess over her.

He found out the next day that he couldn’t stop thinking about her.  How delicate she looked on appearance alone and the way she smiled apologetically.  By the time he had managed to get rid of these unwanted thoughts, he saw her again, as if fate had bound them since their very first meeting.  She was doing a talk to a group of younger children outside a nursery with her parents.  She didn’t go to school, she had a special tutor at home who taught her how to read using braille.  She often went around to have talks about being blind because she had enough time.  Sephiroth couldn’t help himself, he had to get to know her.  Or else he would forever be tormented by the mere image of her.  She would always be there to haunt him at the back of his mind and he would want nothing more than to catch and keep her, like a bug collector capturing a rare and beautiful butterfly.  Though Sephiroth would rather catch her then nurture her rather than killing and putting her up on display.

So ever since, he’d been following her, getting to know her daily routine and constantly taking photos and sketching her.  She was so beautiful, like a princess or an angel.  A fallen angel, that’s what she must be.  So innocent when she was just a mere child and so vulnerable and now she was just so beautiful whilst she was maturing.  It was obsessive but Sephiroth couldn’t care less.  It didn’t affect his work at all, in fact it helped him a lot.  He was a fashion designer, specialising in female clothes.  He nearly always used his angel as a model and inspiration for new looks.  He worked on designs for casual and formal clothes for everyday life, clothes for dolls and on the rare occasion was called to help design costumes for TV shows and theatres.  Sephiroth had countless of pages of images of her in so many different outfits.  The moment after he would draw her figure, the designs just drew themselves.  Sephiroth’s sketches ranged from Anne in simple underwear to fully detailed ball gowns.  He even threw in a few jewellery designs if the mood ever struck him.

The city clock nearby struck five, much to Sephiroth’s dismay, because that was the signal that his precious princess had to leave the park with her dog and meet her _friends_.  Sephiroth didn’t conceal his contempt as he thought about them.  Her _friends_ were four local boys who were all three years older than her.  Sephiroth didn’t like them at all.  They knew her because she had been assaulted by a hit and run mugger when she was walking home one day.  Her dog chased after him and he himself was about to rush to her aid when the boys on the other side of the street beat him to it.  Two of them helped her up while the other two caught up with the mugger to stop him.  She looked so afraid when that happened and Sephiroth couldn’t help but wish to bring her into his arms and soothe her.  That had happened last year, after she and her sister had gotten out of the orphanage.

Sephiroth remembered that day well.  She and her older sister were dressed in black, looking rather glum.  Their parents had died in a horrible car accident three years ago.  Sephiroth would have gone straight away to adopt his blind girl but after observing them, the elder sister refused to be separated from her.  If anyone was going to adopt one, they’d have to adopt the other.  That would have been a problem for Sephiroth because that girl was overprotective.  If he had adopted his blind girl with her, she would have noticed his obsession straight away.  He didn’t want to risk it so he left them alone.  As soon as the elder sister turned eighteen two years later, she took her little sister and left the orphanage after getting a job at a local bar and managing to scrape enough money to afford a small apartment by selling most of their possessions.  That was when Sephiroth began sending his princess money.  The girls were confused at first but they didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.  They were desperate and couldn’t afford to question anything.  Sephiroth was simply happy enough to help his beautiful princess.  It put his mind at ease when he saw Anne coming out of the apartment in better made clothes and looking healthier.

“Good boy, Timber,” Anne praised as Timber came along after running around and laid his head on her lap.

Sephiroth glared at that damn dog.  He had never been so envious of such a shaggy mongrel before.  He wanted to have his head in her lap and have her stroke him.  The idea of her stroking his hair made him shudder.  Sephiroth watched those tiny hands run through Timber’s black fur and tickling his ears longingly.  Such precious tiny hands…all wasting their affection on her guide dog.  She’d had Timber for about three years now.  The one before passed away from old age, Sephiroth remembered Anne crying when she heard the news.  It was before the car accident her parents ended up in.  Timber arrived on that day and Anne was so happy to be able to have a new companion.

“Let’s go,” Anne said as she gripped on Timber’s lead and got up.

Timber barked and pulled her along down the pathway.  Sephiroth got up and followed her to the café where she often met with the boys at five o’clock sharp.  He couldn’t help but smile slightly.  She always stuck to a firm routine, it was simply adorable.  He knew it was only because she was blind and it made things so much easier for her.  Timber pushed the door open for her and Sephiroth heard a shout.

“It says no dogs allowed!” one of the customers said to a very startled Anne as Sephiroth came in.

“Yeah but look, mate,” a tall boy with blue hair to his shoulders stood and placed a hand on Anne’s shoulder, squeezing comfortingly “Guide dogs are allowed.  Can you not tell that she’s blind?”

Sephiroth watched the customer stare at Anne for a while before sitting back down.

“Sorry…” he muttered.

Sephiroth watched the boy smile at the man in a friendly manner.

“Good, I’m glad that’s been sorted out,” he said and led Anne to their usual booth.

“That was scary,” Anne commented as she placed a hand on her heart.

“It’s alright now,” the boy with the silver hair next to her squeezed her arm comfortingly.

“You’d think someone like him would be able to read signs properly,” the boy with black hair and red eyes sneered at the other customer.

“Timber, sit,” Anne instructed her dog who nosed her knee.

Timber sat down under the table obediently and Cissnei, the waitress, came over with a bowl of water for him.

“Oh, he’s such a good dog,” she smiled happily as he began drinking “He looks so fluffy and cute!  I could just cuddle him for the rest of my shift!”

“Ciss, don’t touch it!” Reno barked from the kitchens “You have to serve food, remember?  Get back to work before you catch his fleas!”

“He doesn’t have fleas!” Anne called.

“Whatever.”

“Tch, no respect for any kind of animal whatsoever.”

Cissnei huffed again as she got back up to her feet and took out her pad and paper.

“Usual order?” she smiled.

“Yes please,” a boy with black hair and silver eyes winked.

Cissnei blushed bashfully before jotting down their usual order.

“Ah, wait, could I have an iced mocha instead of a regular one?” Anne requested “It is a very hot day today…”

“Oh, of course,” Cissnei smiled “Anything for our Anne.”

She winked happily before going back to the kitchens to post the order up.  Sephiroth took his place in his usual booth just opposite the others, narrowing his eyes at the boys that sat next to Anne.  Sky, Asa, Erik and Luka, friends since childhood. 

Sky, the chivalrous sportsman.  He was the tallest of the group.  He was rather naïve and oblivious like Anne, never realising that he was attracting attention from prying eyes by wearing clothes that were clearly a bit tight-fitting and showing off the evidence of the amount of time he put into exercise.  Seriously, you could stare at his ass for about an hour in the most obvious way possible and he will not take a hint.  Sephiroth didn’t mind him much, he clearly was pretty stupid and Anne didn’t seem to enjoy his conversations of sport.  He talked about other things too, such as horses and his family.  A kind, caring and sensitive soul, just what any girl would want in a boyfriend.  It was such a pity that he lacked intelligence. 

Asa, the charming magician.  He always enjoys showing off his magic tricks and works as a children’s entertainer for some extra pocket money.  He was sweet, almost getting away with anything if he just flashed that delightful smile.  Even though she always sat next to him, Sephiroth wondered if Anne liked Asa the least but still enjoyed his company enough to meet him every day.  He often talked about other magicians, stunt ones in particular.  He could go on for hours just describing how one trick worked and then wishfully thinking about mimicking it.  Sephiroth hoped he would try a stunt magic trick so it would go horribly wrong and he will end up in hospital or better yet, the morgue.  His voice just went on and on, it was so damn irritating.

Erik, the shy bookworm.  He was the smallest of the group.  Shy and withdrawn, Erik rarely spoke with the group.  He enjoyed reading and Anne often told him of her stories.  They often broke away from the group to discuss stories and sometimes even came up with their own story.  Erik is also easy to startle, making him an easy target for Asa to pull something out of his ear and laugh at his moment of weakness.  Sephiroth wasn’t too bothered about Erik, he was too much of a coward to ever try to fight his own battles.  If there was ever going to be a time to confront him, Erik would probably just flee, tail tucked into his legs.  Sephiroth smirked at the thought.

Luka, the flirtatious actor.  Sephiroth hated him the most.  He seemed to take up flirting as a hobby.  He had a rather large ego since his popularity increased due to the fact he’s a teen stage actor.  Normally charming Cissnei into giving the group discounts, leading other girls on just by giving them that irritating smirk that they seemed to like, it just got on Sephiroth’s nerves.  And he did not miss the way Luka would give Anne a quick, possibly lustful, look.  That playboy, that damn playboy, he didn’t deserve to be in such close proximity to his Anne.  If he even thought about committing one filthy deed towards her, Sephiroth would make sure he would regret having ever been born.

All four of these boys seemed attracted to Anne as if she was a magnet.  But Sephiroth knew that they all had girlfriends which disgusted him.  Sky and Erik perhaps were unconsciously being affectionate.  After all, Sky couldn’t tell if a girl was flirting with him even if she asked for him to strip naked for her.  Erik seemed to be the closest person to Anne and probably didn’t even realise his affection for her.  Luka and Asa on the other hand…  Sephiroth nearly broke his pen from squeezing it too hard when he saw Asa playing with Anne’s hair. 

“Don’t touch her, you’re not worthy,” he muttered under his breath.

His glare switched over to Luka who commented that Anne had some cream on her lips from her iced mocha.  He breathed in deeply to calm himself as he observed Luka licking his thumb then stretching over to wipe Anne’s lips clean.  Could their advances be any more obvious?  Sephiroth turned away from the group and focused on his current dress design.  He smiled calmly as he gazed at Anne’s smiling form before him before shading in another ribbon on the dress he was designing.

“Here you go, sir,” Elena delivered him his usual black coffee “Anything else you’d like?”

“No, thank you,” Sephiroth gave her a charming smile.

“So, uh…do you draw for fun, for classes or is it for a profession?”

Sephiroth eyed the blonde waitress warily before closing his sketchpad.

“It’s for a profession,” he said before picking his coffee up to sip it.

“Wow, I’d love to draw professionally,” Elena smiled as she clutched the tray to her chest “Are you an artist then?”

“I design clothes,” Sephiroth replied.

“Wow, really?” Elena grinned “Not a lot of art students around here go for fashion design.  Well, except for me.”

Sephiroth eyed her sceptically, placing his coffee down and wishing she would just leave already.  When she continued staring at his sketchpad thoughtfully, he delved into his pocket.

“Here, ask him for work experience,” he muttered “He’s been looking for extra workers recently.”

“Woah, _Rhapsodonian Fabrics_?!”

“Elena!” Tseng called from the kitchens,

“Ah, coming!” Elena turned and looked at Sephiroth with a star-eyed look before jogging off back to the kitchen to collect another order.

Sephiroth sighed tiredly as he picked up his coffee and sipped it as he got a few glances.  Oh the joys to working for an elite clothes company.  Sephiroth flipped open his sketchpad again to continue sketching Anne’s dress, ignoring the star-eyed art students in the café.

 

* * *

 

“Anne, you messy girl, you’ve got cream all over on your chin now!” Luka laughed as Anne placed her iced mocha back down again.

“Here, I’ll get it,” Sky came to the rescue this time and used a napkin to wipe Anne’s chin clean.

“Stop it, I feel like a baby,” Anne said as she swatted at Sky’s hand but missed, hitting poor Asa in the face.

“Ah!” Asa winced and Anne gasped in horror.

“I’m so sorry, Asa!” she said.

“I’m bleeding!  I’m bleeding!” Asa proclaimed dramatically.

“No you’re not, you wimp,” Sky said “Stop making such a fuss.”

“I’m so…sorry…” Anne squeaked and Asa chuckled, ruffling her hair.

“Don’t worry about it.  But seriously!  You have a strong backhand.”

“You would have made a good tennis player,” Sky sighed.

“I still think it sounds boring,” Anne frowned at the mention of tennis “I mean, you hit a ball and the person you’re playing against hits it back, doesn’t it get tedious?”

“Not when you see a trophy that you’d like to win,” Sky replied “Trust me, if you play it, it’s not just about hitting a ball back and forth.”

Anne sighed sadly but she felt Erik’s hand squeeze her shoulder comfortingly.

“It’s alright, sport isn’t all that great,” he said timidly “Sky just over glorifies any kind of sport.”

“Just because you can’t even hit the tennis ball far enough to reach the net, Erik,” Sky snickered.

Erik remained silent and Anne took his hand in hers.  She felt it curiously, recognising how soft they were and the small bumps where his paper cuts were healing.  They were a bit small too but not as small as hers.  Anne wondered what Erik looked like.  All she could pick up on was her sense of touch.  Her hands wandered over to Erik’s face and she cupped his soft cheeks.  They grew warm under her touch and she tilted her head to the side curiously.

“Weren’t you doing this yesterday?” she heard Asa ask.

“I just…” Anne said softly as she kept feeling Erik’s face, his small nose and lips coming into her darkened mind as she imagined his face indent.

“Just let her be, Asa,” Luka said.

Anne kept feeling Erik’s face curiously.  She could never understand what a person’s face looked like.  She won’t ever know what a person’s face looked like.  She could feel Erik’s face for all eternity and never have a full understanding on what he looked like.  It simply fascinated her to just feel what other people looked like.

“Ah, careful,” Erik said as her fingertips brushed his eyelids.

“Yeah, we don’t want to have two blind people to take care of,” Asa snickered and Anne felt Luka’s leg pass her leg to kick Asa.

Anne giggled despite the pang in her chest and shrugged.  She smiled sadly as she carefully brushed her thumbs over Erik’s eyelashes

“I don’t mind,” she said as her fingers explored his eyebrows next “I’ve been blind all my life and I’ll always will be.  I should get used to it.”

“Haven’t any doctors recommended any operations for you to have?” Sky asked.

“My blindness is incurable, they said,” Anne replied as she withdrew her hands from Erik’s face “Otherwise, I’d have the operation done long ago.”

“The world of medicine is still advancing,” Asa said “Say, didn’t Phoenix say the other day that they’re working on bionic eye transplants?”

“That would cost about eight million Gil when they become available,” Luka replied “Anne and Tifa don’t have that kind of money, even with the anonymous donations.”

“Well let’s save up.”

Everyone went silent as Erik spoke.  Anne felt him shift.

“Well, you know, if it’s something in the future that might be worth saving up for then I want to save money for Anne to have this operation.  Just so she will be able to see our world.”

“Erik, you spend most of your time studying, you won’t be able to save up without a job,” Luka said.

“I’ll help out with my dad’s restaurant then.  Just to earn some money to save up.”

“You know what?” Sky sighed “I’ll chip in too.  My parents own a riding school, I can help look after the horses to earn money.”

“I don’t earn very much,” Asa spoke “But I’ll make more of an effort to find jobs and perhaps find some other things to do too.”

“Well I earn much more than you lot put together so I’ll be the main provider of this little charity,” Luka said smugly.

“Show off,” Asa sneered “Anne, what’s the matter?”

Anne sniffed and wiped her tears away, bringing her back to the centre of the boys’ attention.

“You’re all so kind, I just can’t help it,” she sobbed.

She couldn’t describe it!  She felt so…happy and so moved.  They would all willingly put aside some money to save up for her to see.  They had barely known her for a year and yet they would gladly give up their time to work and earn money for her.

“Aw, group hug,” Luka proposed and Anne was suddenly wedged in between Asa and Erik with Sky and Luka’s arms around them.

“Luka, you’re squeezing me pretty tightly,” Erik coughed.

“I’m sorry, Erik, but you’re so adorable and cuddly,” Luka said.

“Get off!”

“Never, you’re so cute, I just want to eat you up.”

“Get off me, you pervert!”

“Aw, that’s so sweet,” Sky cooed.

“Asa, help me!” Erik whimpered.

“No, I’m not getting on Luka’s bad side again since the time I took a picture of him in drag,” Asa cackled at the memory “Ow!”

“We agreed to never speak of that again,” Luka growled.

“Sky, help me!”

“Like I said before, you two look so sweet together.”

“Anne, help me!”

“My arms are trapped,” Anne tried to move her limbs.

One arm was trapped in between Luka and Erik whilst the other was trapped in between Asa and Sky.

“And besides, at this angle she might hit you, my adorable little Erik,” Luka snickered.

“Timber, help me!”

“Timber, stay down,” Luka commanded.

Timber whined.

“Cissnei, help me!”

Anne heard the click of a camera and Erik squeaked.

“You did not just do that!” he whimpered.

“It’s so cute, it has to go on our regular customer board!” Cissnei giggled.

“Aw, Erik, you’re blushing!” Asa laughed.

“That’s so cute!” Cissnei squealed.

“Shut up.  Alright, I guess I have no choice.”

Luka let out a surprised breath as the group hug ended.

“Wow, you actually have a pretty strong push.”

“No he doesn’t,” Sky interjected.

“No-one has a better push than you, Sky,” Asa snickered.

“That’s not true, there are plenty of guys that are much stronger than Sky,” Luka scoffed.

“Care to put it to the test?” Sky challenged.

“Oh, you’re on!”

Anne didn’t know what was going on but after a few strained grunts, something hard slammed into the table, making her jump.

“Ha, I win,” Sky laughed.

“Not fair, I got an arm cramp,” Luka grumbled.

“Excuses, excuses,” Sky sighed in disappointment.

“I’m not surprised, since you got overpowered by Erik,” Asa snickered.

“Are you calling me weak?” Luka snarled.

“Well, we’ll see if you can beat Erik in an arm wrestling match.”

“No, no, please, I hate arm wrestling,” Erik squeaked and hugged Anne tightly “Anne, save me.”

“Um…what’s an arm wrestling match?” Anne asked curiously.

“Here, if we place your elbow on the table like this…”

Anne felt Asa take her arm and place her elbow on the table.  She felt Asa’s hand slip into hers.

“Right, now you have to push with all your might against my hand and to win, you need to slam it against the table.”

Anne nodded uncertainly and strained to push against Asa’s hand.  She barely even moved it.

“It’s alright if you can’t,” Asa said soothingly as she kept pushing against him “I mean you are just a girl-ah!”

Anne gasped in surprise as she managed to slam Asa’s hand onto the table.  Luka snorted.

“Asa just got beaten by a girl!”

“No fair, Sky tickled me!”

“I did no such thing.”

“But you did!”

“Excuses, excuses,” Sky sighed again.

“Why you…!”

Anne lowered her head when Timber pushed his wet nose against her knee.

“Time to go home,” she said.

“What, is it six already?” Erik sounded surprised.

“Sheesh, time flies,” Sky muttered.

“Ah!  I’m going to be late for my audition!  Sorry for the low tip, Cissnei, I need the extra money to take a taxi!”

“Oh, bye, Luka!” Anne heard Cissnei call.

Anne heard coins fly onto the table and the door swung open then shut.

“With that speed, he might just make it if he travelled solely by foot,” Asa chortled.

“What’s he auditioning for?” Anne asked curiously.

“ _Loveless_ , it’s a really big play apparently,” Sky replied.

“Oh, I’ve read that,” Erik started.

“Of course you have,” Asa sighed.

“I think it’s really good, I’ll have to watch it if Luka wins his audition.”

“You mean _when_ he wins the audition,” Sky corrected “Luka’s a brilliant actor.  They’ll be mad to not let him into the chorus at least.”

“Well, actors do have those days…” Asa sighed and Anne heard by the rustle of his clothes that he shrugged.

“Well if or when Luka wins the audition, I’d certainly like to go and watch it.”

“I don’t know, those tickets are pretty easy to sell out…” Sky hummed.

“Perhaps Luka could get us some spare tickets if he’s in the cast,” Anne suggested and swatted Timber’s nose when he nudged her again.

“We’ll see when the time comes,” Erik said “Oh, I promised I’d take Zephyr to the movies in twenty minutes!”

“I’ll stay to pay the drinks,” Sky offered “Today is my rest day and Lucinda needs to stay at home to look after her brothers.”

“Oh thanks, I need to get ready to meet Chiharu,” Asa said and Anne felt and heard him shift to get up.

Erik left Anne’s side and Anne let Timber help her stand and walk her out of the café.

“Bye,” she called over her shoulder.

She left the café.  Her arm was yanked along by Timber and she smiled.

“You must be hungry, boy!” she exclaimed “Hey, slow down a bit, would you?”

Timber just barked happily and Anne giggled.

“You can only think of your stomach, can’t you?”

Timber whined, as if protesting and saying that it wasn’t true.  Anne giggled. 

“It’s because Tifa’s making sausages tonight, isn’t it?”

Timber barked again and Anne giggled once more.  She absolutely loved Timber.  He was just so big and cuddly even though he was a bit on the smelly side.  But Anne loved nothing more than to delve her fingers into his fur and cuddle him.  He loved the attention too, he acted like a big baby quite often.  Tifa normally complained that it was because she coddled him too much.  But Anne didn’t mind, she loved spoiling Timber.  He was her guide dog after all, she owed her life to him.  He deserved to be a little bit spoiled.  Tifa didn’t think so though.  But Anne still spoiled him regardless.  He was allowed to sit with her on the sofa as she read and she let him on the bed when she went to sleep.  Anne enjoyed just burying her nose into his fur, inhaling his doggy scent and just drift off to sleep, holding him.

“Wait, Anne!” she heard Erik call “Uh, can I walk you home?  The cinema isn’t really that far away from your block of apartments.”

“Oh, sure, if you want,” Anne smiled.

Timber barked happily and Erik gasped in fright.

“Oh, I forgot how loud Timber’s bark was,” he said softly.

“It’s worse than his bite, don’t worry,” Anne assured him and held her spare hand out.

Erik’s hand slipped into hers and they walked side by side, Timber pulling a bit less for Erik’s sake.  Anne squeezed Erik’s hand and felt a shy smile spread across her face as she did so.

 

* * *

 

Erik felt himself blushing shyly as he and Anne joined hands.  It made them look like they were one of those cute little couples but Erik just stuck with the fact to say that Anne was simply blind and Timber would need help guiding her.  Nodding discretely to himself, Erik smiled.  Zephyr would probably jump to a conclusion if she saw them right now but she would believe him when he would explain that Anne was blind.  He heard the café door swing open and shut again and turned his head.  He saw one of the customers had come out, the man with long silver hair and scary green eyes who apparently worked as a fashion designer for _Rhapsodonian Fabrics_.  He swallowed and turned away.  That man emitted a very eerie aura and he didn’t like it.  Erik probably was a scaredy-cat but he was pretty sure anyone would have noticed how creepy that man looked.

“Erik, I need to buy some tomatoes and cheese for Tifa,” Anne said as they stopped by the convenience store.

She fished into her skirt pocket and pulled out some Gil bills which she pressed into his hand.

“Could you get them for me, please?”

Erik smiled down at her and pulled away.

“Alright, just wait for me here,” he said.

He wandered into the convenience store, the doors making a ding sound which Timber barked at.  As he wandered down the aisles, he couldn’t help but glance at Anne who waited outside patiently.  She was a very cute girl in appearance, he couldn’t help but admire her.  It was her massive dog that scared Erik away.  Timber was a friendly dog, perhaps a bit too friendly when he was overexcited.  Erik wondered if Timber got his name just by being so heavy and enjoying to pounce on people.  That was how they managed to catch that mugger that brought them to meet Anne in the first place.  Erik remembered helping Anne up and the way her eyes darted around in a panic.  She looked so scared and helpless, Erik himself would have probably been worse if he was the blind guy that got mugged.

When Luka and Sky came back with an unconscious man, Timber and Anne’s money they called the police and helped Anne home.  Sky kept bragging about how he single-handedly defeated the mugger whilst Luka argued that they probably would have never caught up hadn’t Timber had jumped onto his hind legs and fell on top of the mugger.  Apparently what happened was that after the mugger kicked poor Timber off, Luka tackled him first and tried to hold him down.  He then got an elbow into the face, hence the massive nosebleed he got when they returned.  Sky came next and managed to render the mugger unconscious from his experience in judo.  That story is still in bits and pieces now, Erik would have liked to run after them to see everything hadn’t he been too scared.

It took Erik about five minutes to collect the items, pay for them and come back out.  That was when he saw that scary man again, just down the street, watching Anne.  No, that was crazy.  He was probably staring into space thinking.

“I’m back,” he said and pressed the change into Anne’s hand.

“Oh, thank you,” Anne smiled as she pocketed the change then held her hand out again.

Erik handed her over the shopping bag and they walked back to Anne’s home together.  Erik thought this was from his overactive imagination but he swore that scary man was following them.  But the moment he turned his head, the man had slowed down and was looking in the window of a shop.  Erik turned away and shook his head.  It had to be his imagination.  Especially since he was a big scaredy-cat who was afraid of his own shadow.

“Erik, you seem tense,” Anne said and giggled when Erik jumped “Is something the matter?”

“No, not really,” Erik glanced back at the man again “I just…read a scary book lately and it’s gotten me paranoid.”

“Oh, what’s it about?” Anne smiled.

“It might be a bit scary for you,” Erik chuckled.

“Tifa always told me that if you can’t see the scary monster, it won’t get you,” Anne said “And I can’t see anything so nothing can get me.”

Erik paused and shrugged.

“OK, well it’s about this creature that lives in the sewers of this city during the daytime,” he described “It can change into any shape and form so it can scare its victims to paralysis then kills them.”

“You’re right, that is scary,” Anne admitted “But if I can’t see it, it won’t scare me.”

“What about if it feels, smells and sounds scary?”

“Then I’m in trouble.”

They shared a laugh.

“I’m trying to think up of a horror story for an older audience,” Anne said.

“R-Really?” Erik stuttered “Are you sure?  M-Maybe you should stick with children’s stories that you normally tell at the day-care centre…”

“Scared, Erik?” Anne giggled.

“You have a very grand imagination, I’d hate to listen to a horror story dictated by you…”

“It’s not that scary,” Anne smiled “It’s only about a teenage girl who has the ability to kill people by making eye contact with them.”

“Sounds pretty scary to me…” Erik muttered.

“She is fifteen years old.”

“Little teenage girl that can kill someone through eye contact, brilliant,” Erik sighed.

“Red eyes and black hair.”

Erik slowly turned his head to Anne who had red eyes and black hair.

“Pretends to be blind to avoid killing people.”

“Sounds like…”

Anne suddenly turned her head sharply towards him, making him yell and jump away.  Anne laughed as he pressed a hand to his heart.

“Don’t do that, it’s not nice!” he whined and Anne smirked.

“I’m sorry but I think it’s a good idea,” she said.

“You don’t even know how scary red eyes can be,” Erik sighed “Trust me, when I first met Asa, I felt intimidated.”

“I know they’re quite a common feature in horror stories,” Anne said as she flexed her fingers and nearly losing grip of Timber’s leash.

“When have you been reading horror stories?” Erik frowned.

“Since I listened to the audiobook of _Hide and Seek with Amy_ a few months ago.”

Erik shuddered at the title.

“Don’t remind me about that book!” he whimpered.

“Why did you read it then?” Anne asked.

“Zephyr wanted me to read it, she’s into that kind of thing,” Erik sighed.

“You didn’t have to…”

“Well I felt obliged,” Erik shrugged helplessly “I really like Zephyr and I can afford to know a few things so we have more in common.”

“Oh, Erik, you are so easily taken advantage of,” Anne sighed.

“Trust me, when you get a boyfriend, you’ll want to push yourself out of your comfort zone in order to get a bit closer to him.”

“Not to the point where I’m sleeping and listening out for Amy’s chant of…”

“Don’t say it!”

“Nineteen, twenty!  Ready or not, Amy’s coming for you!” Anne put on a creepy voice and Erik froze in terror.

“I told you not to say it!” he said.

“What are you going to watch with her in the cinema anyway?” Anne frowned.

“Well…they’ve filmed the novel _Tag, You’re It_ by Vincent Valentine…” Erik muttered and Anne gasped “It’s coming out tonight.”

“Erik, I’ve listened to the audiobook he personally recorded and read the braille version, that’s a horrifying book!” she exclaimed.

“I know, I know…”

“And you’re planning to watch the filmed version of it with Zephyr?”

“Yes,” Erik sighed in defeat “I’m really scared…”

“I’m not surprised!” Anne looked astonished “Why would you risk dying of fright for this woman?!”

“She’s been looking forward to it so much,” Erik said “And I just want to make her happy.”

“Can’t you have one date where you’re not risking your health?”

“We do, we go to cafés and fun parks,” Erik hummed “Though she certainly enjoys the haunted mansions.”

“Erik, I’m no expert on relationships,” Anne said as they stopped outside her block of apartments “But you shouldn’t just sacrifice yourself for this girl.  She needs to know that you like things too and she should get to know you better.”

“Well…” Erik grimaced.

“You may not be the perfect macho boyfriend a lot of girls will want,” Anne shrugged “But it’s alright to be scared.  You don’t have to prove your courage by sitting through a horde of zombie children chasing their parents through some dark woods.”

“I am so not looking forward to that scene…” Erik shuddered and shook his head “It’s alright, Anne.  I can handle it.”

“Well if you insist,” Anne sighed “If you don’t turn up tomorrow, I’ll know why.”

Erik chuckled nervously as she giggled.

“Hey, could you help me up?” Anne asked timidly as Timber half-dragged her into the block “Timber can’t function on the lift and I’m not confident that I’ll press the right floor button.”

“Well…”

He was supposed to meet up with Zephyr at the cinema in ten minutes but he could let her wait for a bit.

“Alright then.”

Anne’s smile widened happily as he helped her into the elevator and pressed the button for her floor.

“You’d think a guide dog would be capable to work with elevators,” he muttered under his breath.

Timber whimpered.  Erik walked Anne to her apartment and watched her fumble with her keys, managing to get the right one in the lock.

“Anne, did you remember the tomatoes, cheese and eggs?” Tifa called from inside.

“Eggs!” Anne exclaimed as Timber pulled her in.

“Oh, that’s alright, I can go back and get some,” Erik offered as Tifa came into the sitting room to have Timber nearly crash into her.

“Oh no, Erik, I don’t want to keep you from your plans,” Anne said.

“It’s fine, it’s not that important.”

Though it was the six month anniversary of his relationship with Zephyr…

“No, don’t worry about it,” Tifa dismissed as she took the cheese and tomatoes “I’ll get some on the way back from work.  We only need eggs for the breakfast I was planning for tomorrow.”

“Thank you for walking me home, Erik,” Anne smiled sweetly at Erik’s general direction.

“Oh, it’s alright, happy to be of service,” Erik smiled back.

“Nice meeting you, Erik,” Tifa nodded as Erik stepped back and closed the door.

When Erik left the block of apartments, he felt a cold shiver down his spine.  As he looked around, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy.  Hastily, he walked over to the cinema to meet with Zephyr.

 

* * *

 

“Tifa, are you tired?” Anne asked as she sat down on the sofa.

“No, I’m fine,” Tifa barely managed to suppress a yawn.

“Tifa, you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself,” Anne said “Please, just take this day off.”

“I can’t,” Tifa argued as she continued cooking.

“Tifa, it’s alright.  You work a lot of extra hours at that bar.  You can take this one day off and besides, we still have the money from those donations.”

“Yes but we don’t know if they’ll keep on coming,” Tifa sighed and glanced at Anne.

“But we have enough for you to spare at least one day from work,” Anne argued “Please, Tifa.  I worry about you.”

“And I worry about you,” Tifa paused from the cooking.

She didn’t want to tell Anne about how she’d been saving most of the donations rather than spending them on the bills and food and drink.  It was easy, of course, Anne couldn’t tell anything because of her disability.  Tifa wanted to save up in case Anne would need it for the future.  The money had been coming a month after they had left the orphanage.  Fifty thousand Gil every month to support them on bills and other necessities.  Tifa learnt how to be frugal very fast.  She only dipped into the donations in emergencies, like the time she broke her arm whilst trying to break up a fight in Seventh Heaven.  And even then she limited to how much she took out.

“Tifa, you’re burning the sausages.”

“Ah!”

Tifa quickly saved the sausages, sighing in relief when she realised they weren’t too overdone.

“At least someone here is paying attention,” she said.

Anne giggled and Timber yapped excitedly as Tifa dished out dinner.  Tifa filled his food bowl up as Timber pulled Anne eagerly over to the dining table.  He began eating happily as Anne sat down at the table and found her knife and fork.

“A group at the art university nearby has offered me two thousand Gil to be their model,” Anne said as Tifa sat down next to her.

“That’s cheap,” Tifa frowned.

“Well, I’m not exactly a professional,” Anne shrugged as she began eating “They asked for me to come into the university tomorrow.  There’ll be other people they’ve selected to model too.  It’s to help build portfolios they said.”

“And this is Midgar’s University of Art down in Sector Six?” Tifa said with a frown.

Anne nodded and Tifa hummed.

“I’ll take you there tomorrow,” she decided.

“OK,” Anne giggled “Maybe they’ll ask you to be their model too.”

“Uh-huh, as long as I don’t have to model nude,” Tifa said as she glanced down at her breasts “Wait, you’re not modelling nude are you?”

“No, they told me to just wear something pretty,” Anne assured her.

Tifa let out a sigh of relief and shook her head.

“I know you won’t let yourself get into dodgy situations like that but I do worry,” she said.

Anne giggled again as they continued eating their meal.  As Tifa washed up the dishes, Anne walked to their room by herself, knowing the geography of the apartment fairly well.  She began to undress to get dressed into her nightclothes.  She paused when she was undoing her cardigan, trying to locate the third. 

“Oh, a button fell off today,” she concluded “Oh well.”

She continued undressing, leaving her clothes on the floor for Tifa to clear up later and wandered over to the chair which had her nightgown on.  She fumbled a bit to get it on however and paused when she heard Tifa laugh.

“Here, let me help.”

Anne felt Tifa’s hands help adjust the nightgown and put it on properly.  She then turned her around to plat her hair for the night.

“I may be home quite late so I’m sorry if I wake you up in the middle of the night,” she said.

“OK, Tifa,” Anne nodded and turned when she had finished platting “I still wish you’d take a night off once in a while.”

Tifa smiled down at her before hugging her tightly.

“I love you, Anne.”

“I love you too, Tifa,” Anne hugged Tifa back.

Tifa held her tighter.  Anne was all she had left.  If something suddenly happened to Anne then…  Tifa closed her eyes and bared a grin.

“I’m off now, so take care,” she pulled away, grateful that Anne couldn’t see her tears.

“Bye, Tifa,” Anne smiled “Be careful.”

“I always am,” Tifa backed out of the room and grabbed her keys and wallet “Bye!”

Tifa closed the door and pressed her back against it.  She sobbed softly and rubbed her eyes.  She had to admit it, it was getting hard to work and handle having to see her poor baby sister struggle with being blind.  The fact that she would never be able to see the beautiful colours of the world or be able to know the world around her properly pained Tifa.  She always worked hard, wanting to get into science to find a cure to a blindness like Anne had.  All her hopes were shattered when their parents died and they had to move school and move to the orphanage.  It was a struggle to live there from the children bullying Anne to the people that would come to adopt them.  If someone wanted to adopt Anne, Tifa would have let them go for Anne to be happy but Anne didn’t want to be separated from her.  And if someone wanted to adopt Tifa, Tifa refused to leave her baby sister behind to get bullied.  Tifa did get her qualifications at the mediocre school she was moved to, to get into a university but she simply didn’t have enough time and money to be able to afford to go and provide for Anne at the same time.  She would probably be able to scrape by if she used the money that their anonymous donor gave them and took out a student loan as well but she didn’t want to be so selfish.  Everything she ever did was for Anne’s sake.  Anne might say differently but she wouldn’t know any better.  She didn’t understand anything about the real world.

An engine revving was heard and Tifa leaned over the balcony to see Cloud had arrived.  She smiled bashfully before running down to greet him.

“Ready for work?” Cloud smiled as he pushed his goggles up when she arrived and frowned “Are you alright?”

“Yes, yes…” Tifa smiled softly “It’s just…a bit hard to watch Anne with her blindness is all…”

“Oh,” Cloud smiled sympathetically “Don’t worry about it too much.”

“But it just hurts,” Tifa’s bottom lip wobbled “Knowing that she’ll never be able to know what colours are or what I even look like!”

“Tifa…”

Cloud brought his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

“She’ll be OK,” he soothed “She’s got a great sister like you.”

Tifa looked up at Cloud for a few moment before smiling and lightly punching his shoulder.

“Thanks,” she sniffed and got onto his motorbike behind him, hugging him tightly.

Cloud petted her arms soothingly before pulling his goggles back onto his eyes.  He revved Fenrir once before speeding through Midgar to go to Seventh Heaven.  Tifa closed her eyes and let a few tears go unnoticed.  Even when their parents had been alive, it felt difficult for Tifa to cope with having a sister that couldn’t see.  She was confused at first when she was first told the news but as she grew older, the reality hit her.  Her poor baby sister won’t ever be able to see the world.  All the pretty colours and things that were in the world, she’d never be able to see any of them.  Tifa hugged Cloud tighter at the childhood memories and buried her face into his back.  They arrived at the bar quite quickly and Cloud grabbed Tifa’s arm.

“I just remembered what Aerith’s doctor told me earlier,” he said as he pushed his goggles up “Whilst looking into treating leukaemia, he’s helping out with the bionic eye treatment.”

“Bionic eye treatment?” Tifa blinked at him “What’s that?”

“It’s where they insert a chip into the eye and that restores whatever is broken so the person can see again,” Cloud explained “They’ve had a break through recently and they might be able to be ready to give the treatment out this year.”

“Wait, so Anne might be able to see?” Tifa asked, hope blossoming inside her.

“Yes but it might be really expensive,” Cloud grimaced and Tifa sighed.

“There’s always a catch,” she muttered “How much?”

“No less than four million Gil per eye,” Cloud sighed “That’s what I’ve heard.”

“Oh, Gaia,” Tifa groaned and covered her face “I couldn’t possibly be able to save that much…”

They didn’t even have barely a quarter of the eight million Gil they would need in savings!  Tifa sighed in dismay and shook her head. 

“That would be impossible for us,” she whispered “We could never afford that.”

Cloud tilted his head to the side as Tifa glared at the pavement and hunched his shoulders.

“Could I help save up money?” he offered.

“Oh no, Cloud, you shouldn’t,” Tifa shook her head “You’re saving up to help Aerith through her leukaemia treatment, aren’t you?”

“Well I’ll work harder to try and save for both Aerith and Anne,” Cloud insisted “Besides, Zack’s providing most of the treatment from his newfound detective career.  He might land a very big case soon and fund the rest of Aerith’s treatment.”

“No, Cloud, you shouldn’t,” Tifa shook her head “Aerith is dying but Anne isn’t.  Aerith is more important, you should help save her before considering us.”

“But…”

“Cloud, I am happy that you wish to help us,” Tifa smiled “But for now, focus on more important things.”

She placed a hand on where Cloud’s promise ribbon was.

“You promised her you’d help and I expect you to live up to that promise, Cloud Strife.”

Cloud glanced at the ribbon on his bicep and sighed.

“Alright, but then I’m getting another ribbon to make a promise to get Anne’s bionic eye treatment,” he vowed “…What colour should I get?”

“It doesn’t matter, she’s blind,” Tifa shrugged.

“Black it is then,” Cloud grinned and Tifa giggled as he started his engine “I’ll try to aim to pick you up at around midnight!”

“See you then!” Tifa waved the delivery boy goodbye before entering the bar for her shift.

 

* * *

 

Anne heard the door close and walked back out into the sitting room.  She stood in the middle of the room, wondering whether she would like to read braille or just listen to an audiobook.  She was tempted to listen to Vincent’s voice after finding out that his best-selling novel had been filmed which was coming out tonight.  But she remembered how macabre he sounded so decided to go for braille.  She found her way to the bookshelf and began feeling for her special books in braille.  She found the one she had been searching for and brought it to the sofa where she sat down.  Timber jumped onto the sofa with her, laying his head in her lap as she opened her book with one hand and used the other to read.  She lifted her head when she heard Cloud’s motorbike and smiled softly.

“Tifa really likes this Cloud, doesn’t she?” she commented and lowered her reading hand to pet Timber “I wouldn’t know what he’s like, I still have to meet him.”

Timber let out a playful growl and licked her hand happily.  Anne giggled and reached over to tickle his belly.

“You’re a big baby, aren’t you?” she grinned and Timber whined “My big baby, you love being called a big baby don’t you?”

Timber let out another playful growl before nibbling her fingers affectionately.  Anne giggled and yawned tiredly.

“Mmm…I’m sleepy already?” she whispered in surprise “I guess it’s an early night for us tonight.”

Timber barked excitedly and Anne felt him jump off the sofa and heard him run into the bedroom.  She smiled as she placed her book down on the coffee table and got up to follow him.  He let out a soft growl, indicating that he was pulling the blanket off for her to slide in.  She went around to her side of the bed and slipped in, bringing the blankets over her.  She heard Timber flick off the lights then land on top of her.  She grunted in surprise and giggled.

“You are a very heavy dog, don’t you know that?” she asked.

Timber whined and she brought her arms around him, cuddling him affectionately.

“I love you, Timber,” she whispered.

Timber let out a happy growl and Anne smiled, closing her eyes to drift off to sleep.

 

* * *

 

Sephiroth panted softly as he calmed down from his euphoria.  He pulled his hand away from the softening organ and opened his other hand to stare at the small pearl white button that had dropped off Anne’s cardigan earlier that day.  He ran his thumb over it curiously, biting his lip as he recalled how he had observed Anne undressing and unknowingly exposing her adolescent body to the world.  She wouldn’t have known it but she had been right next to the window when she took her clothes off.  Fresh in his mind was Anne’s white skin, her small breasts and the way her nipples went hard in the cool air of her apartment.  Sephiroth let out a soft groan as he felt himself getting aroused once more by the mere memory. 

Then later he had observed her going to bed early and that that damn dog snuggling into her arms.  Oh how Sephiroth wished he could be that dog.  Happily being in Anne’s arms as she showered him with affection, kisses and called him pet names.  She even professes her love to him.  Sephiroth groaned as he imagined his angel in his arms, whispering those three words as if it was a secret into his ear.  It did seem wrong to lust after an underage girl but if it was someone as beautiful as Anne, who could blame him?  Sephiroth didn’t care, he just wanted to have her in his arms.

He was distracted by his cell phone going off.  Wiping his hand clean, Sephiroth answered it.

“Sephiroth, where are you?!” Genesis snarled from the other side “I know you’re at home so come out and let me in!  I need those designs!”

“I’m not at home,” Sephiroth said calmly “I’ve got the designs with me and I’ll drop them off at your office in Midgar.”

“Eh?  You’re in Midgar at this hour?  I thought you normally enjoyed an evening drink at home now.”

“I’m enjoying a drink,” Sephiroth said as he poured out a glass of red wine that he had ordered earlier through room service “And I’m in Midgar for inspiration.”

“Oh Gaia, I hope these designs are acceptable enough to sell out,” Genesis sighed exasperatedly “Honestly, sending me on a wild goose chase.”

“You chose to go to my home instead of waiting at your office,” Sephiroth pointed out smugly as he wandered around the room aimlessly.

“You were taking so long,” Genesis whined pathetically “My employees aren’t being paid to just laze around until you get your sorry ass over to the studio to submit the designs for my workers to make.”

“You need me Genesis, I am your top provider,” Sephiroth smirked before sipping his wine “As your models have said it themselves, no-one designs clothes like me.”

“Don’t act so cocky, I can easily find another designer that will gladly take your place and win the approval from all the models in Midgar,” Genesis huffed “Heck, I bet if Angeal tried to be creative instead of working at the hospital twenty four seven, he’d produce better designs than you.  He’d definitely bring the designs to me on time, that’s for sure.”

“There is no need to be so bitter,” Sephiroth said in a scolding tone “Don’t worry, I’ll bring the designs over to your studio in ten minutes, how does that sound?”

“Nngh, I swear, one day…you should really respect your position right now, Sephiroth!  You will never know what you’ve had until you’ve lost it.”

“If it weren’t for me, Genesis, your company wouldn’t be as big as it is now.”

“Tch, smart mouth.”

“Angeal’s working on the bionic eye treatment, isn’t he?” Sephiroth said as he walked up to the window and gazed down at Anne’s apartment.

“Yeah, he’s absolutely thrilled, won’t shut up about it,” Genesis grumbled “Apparently they’ve had a breakthrough quite recently but you know it’s kind of hard to test.  Why do you ask?”

“I was merely wondering because I happen to know someone who’s blind,” Sephiroth shrugged “Anyway, I need to go.  I promised you designs in ten minutes and wasted two of them talking to you.  Goodbye.”

“Wasted?!  Wasted?!  How dare you say that you’ve wasted minutes talking to me!  And don’t you dare hang up on me like some common-”

Sephiroth chuckled and hung up despite Genesis’s rants.  He went over to the bedside table to collect his designs and glanced over at the designs with Anne.  He glanced at her cardigan button before closing his fingers around it and squeezing it thoughtfully.

“My beautiful Anne…”


	2. Chapter 2

Anne held Tifa’s hand as she let Timber pull them along, happy to know that they were going for a walk in an unfamiliar area.  Tifa squeezed her hand out of habit and Anne squeezed back, smiling softly.  Anne felt really excited.  She’d never been to a university before.  The boys sometimes talked about going, Erik wishing to study literature and Sky wishing to study physical education.  Asa was undecided and Luka always claimed that he didn’t need to go to university now he had a steady career as a stage actor.  Erik always told him that he may need a back-up job in case he didn’t get any more offers for auditions.  Not like Luka would have time to go to university with rehearsals and performances.  Anne smiled softly as she remembered that memory of the conversation between the boys.

“What is the university like, Tifa?” she asked.

“I…wouldn’t know, I’ve never been,” Tifa replied “But there will be a lot of people there, make sure you don’t let go of Timber or me.”

“OK.”

Timber barked loudly and Anne heard a chorus of screams.

“Timber, no,” Tifa scolded and Timber whined.

“Oh, there you are, Anne!” Anne recognized that voice.

“Serenity,” she said and let go of Tifa’s hand to reach out towards Serenity.

A slim hand met hers and Anne pulled her forward, handing Timber over to Tifa.  She brushed her hands over Serenity’s and smiled.

“Your hands are covered in paint, aren’t they?” she asked.

“Well yes, I was very eager to finish one of my paintings last night,” Serenity laughed and yawned, allowing Anne to catch a whiff of her coffee breath.

“Hi, I’m Tifa, Anne’s sister,” Tifa introduced herself.

“Oh yes, hello,” Serenity greeted “I’m Serenity, I’m so glad you could bring Anne here.”

“Well it’s good to go out once in a while, especially on a beautiful day like this,” Tifa said and was suddenly jerked out of Timber’s grip “Timber, no!  Bad dog!”

Timber barked insistently and whined.

“I’m sorry, he gets overexcited in open spaces like these,” Tifa said.

“Will he be alright sitting inside?” Serenity asked.

“He should be, as long as he will be able to lie in a nice sunny spot.”

“That’s fine.”

Anne felt Tifa placed Timber’s leash in her hand and squeezed her shoulder.

“I would like to stay with Anne, if that’s alright,” Tifa said.

“Sure, I shouldn’t think we’d be too picky with that,” Serenity said “As long as everyone can see Anne, she has a very unique complexion.”

“Inherited from out mother,” Tifa laughed and poked Anne’s cheeks “She’d be cuter with freckles.”

“Freckles?” Anne echoed.

“Never mind, it’s a skin condition.”

“Oh…”

Anne yanked Timber back when he jerked against his collar then began coughing.

“Silly dog!” Tifa giggled and Anne heard her pat Timber’s side loudly “What will we do with you?”

Timber whined and Anne pulled him back to stroke his ears.

“Can we go inside now?” she asked softly.

“Oh, of course,” Serenity said “This way.”

Anne followed Timber and Serenity’s pull whilst listening to the chatter of the crowd around them.  When she began to smell oil paint, acrylic paint and clay, she could only assume that they were in the actual university building.  Timber’s tail tickled her legs as it wagged gleefully.  Anne smiled to herself, Timber always loved exploring new places.  It must be so mundane to be a guide dog, to always memorize routines so she could go to her jobs to scrape enough money for her and Tifa.  Anne was happy to be able to go to a new place for Timber to explore.

“Serenity,” purred a soft voice.

“Go away, Ari, I have guests,” Serenity said sternly.

“Serenity, I just wanted to ask for one date,” the voice purred again.

“She’s not interested, pal,” Tifa said stiffly.

There was another pause and footsteps walked off.

“How did you do that?” Serenity asked “I’ve been trying to get him to get him away from me ever since I asked for him to model for me.”

“Just flex your fingers slightly, makes you look ready to punch him in the face,” Tifa advised “Having a massive dog beside you adds to the effect.”

Timber whined curiously.

“Who was that?” Anne asked.

“Someone I met on the street, asked for him to model for me, has been trying to take me out on a date since.  He’s a forensic scientist apparently.”

“He looks old…” Tifa commented.

“He says he’s twenty six…” Serenity sighed.

“More like forty six,” Tifa snorted.

“Oh, here we are,” Serenity said as Anne heard a door open.

“Anne, sit down here,” Tifa said as she helped Anne onto a chair “Timber, lie down.”

Anne felt the sun on her knee and heard Timber’s big body flop onto the floor nearby, assuming he was lying in the sun.

“Aw, he’s so cute,” cooed one girl.

“Don’t compliment him so much,” Tifa warned “He’s a spoilt little brat wanting attention twenty four seven.”

Timber whimpered and Anne squeezed Tifa’s hand.

“Be nice, Tifa,” she said softly as she sensed her sister sit down next to her.

Tifa took a deep breath and sighed.

“OK, just stay as still as possible,” Serenity instructed “If you want to get up and stretch, that is perfectly fine just as long as you return to your original position.”

“Alright,” Anne smiled.

“Aw, cute little doggie, pretty girl and her older sister, this is perfect!” a camp sounding voice squealed.

“You always had a brilliant eye for models, Serenity,” another person said.

“Can we paint your wonderful big brother again?” a girl’s voice asked “He is so handsome and he is so fit!”

“He’s started working at the stables,” Serenity replied as Anne heard people shuffle through their things and assumed they had began painting “And I’ve told you before, Daisy, he has a girlfriend.”

“Stables…?” Anne said “Fit?  Is his name Sky by any chance?”

“Well, yes…” Serenity sounded surprised.

“He’s my friend,” Anne smiled wider.

“Oh, you’re the blind girl he keeps talking about!” Serenity said with a giggle.

“I didn’t know you would have been his sister…” Anne murmured meekly “He doesn’t shut up about you, apart from how you always attract unwanted attention.”

There was a laugh throughout the room and Serenity huffed.

“Just because I broke up with Gabriel and that forensic scientist insists on having a date with me, it doesn’t mean I always attract unwanted attention,” she argued.

“Anne, you’ll need to keep a straight face for them to be able to paint you,” Tifa murmured softly.

“OK,” Anne nodded before resuming her original position.

Determined to keep her position, Anne did not move a muscle throughout the hour and a half session.  Even though her body ached, she refused to move.  She felt Tifa get up a couple of times to stretch her limbs and ask her whether or not she wanted to do the same.  Anne kept herself entertained by her stories.  Such as the story with the girl of death, the one who could kill people by making eye contact with them.  Anne fell into her own world where she imagined the girl being taken in by a family and she falls in love with a young man.  But when he takes her bandages off and sees her eyes, he dies and she cries over his body.  Her tears were blood and when they’re discovered, the family think she’s murdered him on purpose.

“Anne, it’s OK to relax now,” Serenity said, startling her out of her thoughts “We’re finished.”

Anne let out a sigh of relief as she immediately relaxed into her chair, enticing a couple of giggles from the other art students.

“Timber, come on, time to go,” Tifa said as Anne felt her get up.

There was a soft snore in response.

“Aw, he’s so cute!” came a squeal and Anne heard the click of the camera.

Anne slid out of her chair and crawled over to where Timber was lying down.  She shook him awake, smiling when he sat up and nuzzled her.

“Come on, it’s time to go,” she said as she groped the air until she found a handful of fur to stroke.

She spluttered when a wet rough tongue went up her cheek and Tifa helped her up to her feet, using a tissue to wipe away the remnants of saliva on her cheek.

“I want to keep him,” came a whine.

“Buy your own dog, we need this one,” Tifa said as Anne picked up Timber’s lead.

“Here you are,” Serenity said and Anne heard the rustle of plastic “Four thousand Gil for your trouble.  Thank you so much for your time.”

“Well, money’s been tight lately,” Tifa said as she took Anne’s hand “Thank you for giving Anne the opportunity to come here.”

“Oh, it’s a pleasure to help,” Serenity said “I’m sure Sky would be thrilled to see the painting I’ve got.”

“I want to meet this mysterious Sky,” Tifa said “It’s Sunday so we have enough free time.  Where are these stables that your family owns?”

Anne waited as Serenity gave directions to Tifa to where the stables were.  She began worrying what Tifa will think about Sky as she began to follow after her sister out of the university.  Anne described Sky to be dedicated to sport which Tifa commented that she hoped he wasn’t one of those stupid boys who only care about their physique.  Anne didn’t think of that of Sky, she just simply thought that he was someone who enjoyed sport.

“I’ve never been too fond of horses,” Tifa said as they walked down the street, Timber’s tail tickling Anne’s legs as he happily sniffed around.

“Why is that?” Anne asked.

“Well, they’re very big,” Tifa replied “They can get quite aggressive too, they bite and kick pretty hard.”

“Did that happen to you before?” Anne asked curiously.

“I only ever got bitten by a mare but that was because I startled her,” Tifa said and squeezed Anne’s hand “I was pretty young then, pretty stupid too.”

“You live and learn,” Anne smiled.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you get too close to these horses,” Tifa reassured her “I’m more worried about Timber really.”

Timber whined at the sound of his name and Anne giggled.  They continued to walk and chat until Anne heard and smelt horses nearby.

“Um, what does Sky look like?” Tifa asked.

There was an awkward pause and Anne swallowed.

“Don’t know,” she whispered.

“Oh, yes, sorry,” Tifa said as she wrapped an arm around Anne “Sorry, it was out of habit, I wasn’t thinking.”

She let go of her.

“Stay here, I’ll go and look.”

Anne nodded as she heard Tifa walk off and Timber growling warily.  Must be because of the horses.  Anne crouched down carefully and ruffled his ears.

“Don’t worry, Timber,” she soothed “Just don’t get too close, they’ll be fine.”

Timber still snarled softly.

“Anne!”

Anne perked up when she heard Sky.

“Sky,” she smiled and gasped as she let Timber slip out of her grip.

Timber barked happily and Sky grunted.

“Ugh, hello to you too, Timber,” he said.

“Wow, I’m impressed,” Tifa said “Not a lot of people are able to take on Timber’s weight.”

“Not a lot of people like to take care of their physique,” Sky grunted.

Anne held her hand out for Sky to take.  Once she found his hand in hers, she began to feel the rough skin curiously, frowning when she felt a small scab.

“What’s that from?” she asked.

“Oh, I cut myself on some glass last night,” Sky replied “Lucinda wasn’t happy when I stumbled and dropped the glasses I was holding.”

“I thought you weren’t meeting her last night?” Anne cocked her head to the side curiously.

“I decided to surprise her and pop round,” Sky said “Her brothers were just going to bed when I arrived so it was all good, until I tripped that is.”

Anne giggled and shook her head.  She continued feeling Sky’s hand curiously, recognizing that the callousness had come from his weight lifting and javelin throwing.  Sky seemed to enjoy throwing the javelin very much, probably his favourite sport.

“Why don’t you two stay for lunch?” Sky offered “My mother is cooking lamb stew.”

“Can we, Tifa?” Anne asked.

“Well, we don’t want to be an inconvenience,” Tifa said.

“Oh you won’t be at all,” Sky said “My mother would love to see fresh faces because she hardly leaves the house.”

“Please, Tifa,” Anne said “It would be nice to have someone else cook for you for a change.”

Tifa sighed.

“Oh well, when you plead like that, I can’t refuse,” she said in defeat.

“Timber can go into the garden, it’s spacious enough for him to run around in,” Sky said and Timber barked happily.

Tifa sighed again and Anne smiled happily when Sky lead her away.

 

* * *

 

“This stew is absolutely brilliant, Mrs Miura,” Tifa smiled brightly as she and Anne ate together in front of Sky and his mother.

“Why thank you, Tifa,” the middle-aged woman smiled happily “Please, call me Zenna.  Mrs Miura is far too formal.”

“Alright, Zenna,” Tifa nodded.

“It is nice to finally meet you, Anne,” Zenna turned to the blind girl who was carefully lowering the spoon into the bowl and holding it up to contain the spoonful “Sky never stops talking about you amongst his sport and Lucinda.”

“Does he?” Anne said as she focused on bringing the spoon closer to her and put it in her mouth “He likes to talk about you and Serenity too.”

“Well he’s just like his father,” Zenna simpered and pinched Sky’s cheek “A ladies’ man ever since he was born.”

“Mom, cut it out,” Sky groaned and batted her hand away.

Tifa smiled wistfully as she stirred the stew thoughtfully before eating another spoonful.

“So, Sky, you’re taking a gap year?” she said as she glanced at Sky.

“Well yeah, because I didn’t do well in my final exams,” Sky grimaced “I’m not sure yet what I’d like to do later on in life.  I would fancy taking a career that involves a lot of physical work though.”

“I’ve been telling him ever since he left school that he’d make a fine policeman like his grandfather,” Zenna said as she finished off her stew.

“I don’t want to be a policeman, it’s dangerous,” Sky argued “Remember what you told me about how he died?”

“He died honourably,” Zenna said dismissively “But I don’t expect you do get into something seriously dangerous before I have grandchildren, alright?”

Sky choked on his stew softly as he envisioned Lucinda with his children.

“Alright…” he coughed as he used his napkin to wipe his mouth.

“I think you’d make a good policeman, Sky,” Anne smiled as her blank eyes turned towards him but missed him by a few inches “You were really good at tackling that mugger that attacked me.”

“Yeah but Luka and Timber helped,” Sky muttered.

Well, he did most of the work.  Timber bit him but was shoved away then Luka jumped onto his back.  When Luka was thrown off, Sky just happened to be in the perfect position to punch him in the nose and kick him in the groin.  Then Timber jumped and flattened the man when he was still recovering.  Luka called the police then helped Sky drag him back to the road where Erik and Asa were checking on Anne.  Sky remembered the shock he felt when he realised that not only was she fourteen years old but she was also blind.  It made him sick to think someone would dare target such a vulnerable person.  Sky glanced at Anne and smiled to himself.  It was a good thing that they had been there at the time of the mugging.  Otherwise, who knew what could have happened next?

“You know, I have a friend that works in the police department,” Tifa said “Perhaps I could convince him to let you do a bit of work experience before you consider your options?”

“Oh that would be brilliant!” Zenna said brightly “What do you say, Sky?”

Sky’s eyes shifted from his mother to Tifa and he hummed.

“I’ll…think about it,” he smiled politely.

“Oh it would be wonderful if you could convince your friend,” Zenna smiled happily.

“Well, thank you for this delicious meal,” Tifa said as she finished off her stew “It’s the least I could do.”

“Oh nonsense,” Zenna said as Anne and Sky finished their stew “It is very generous of you.”

“Well, I do enjoy helping out,” Tifa shrugged “My friend is a detective so you’d probably be doing some office work or going over to help with minor cases.”

“That sounds interesting,” Sky tilted his head curiously.

“Sky’s grandfather was a regular policeman on duty around his area,” Zenna said “He joined shortly after the Wutai War.”

“Oh, our grandfather just retired after the Wutai War,” Tifa said “He suffered from post-traumatic disorder so it would have been best for him to stay at home rather than going back to his old job as an accountant.”

“Oh, my father had no guilt in him whatsoever,” Zenna sighed and shook her head “Personally, I think he was unhinged from the war but kept it to himself.  And then he died of…”

“Mother!” Sky hissed before turning to the girls “He got shot.  He got shot and died.”

“Yep, thirty bullets in the chest,” Zenna sighed wistfully.

“Mother!” Sky hissed again as Tifa and Anne paled.

“Oh yes, he uncovered this drug dealing gang you see,” Zenna continued talking “But did he wait for back-up?  No, he just charged in there guns blazing.”

“Mother, that’s enough, they don’t need to hear all the details,” Sky said.

“Why, are you ashamed of your grandfather?” Zenna frowned.

“Hey, may I have the recipe to your stew?” Tifa changed the subject quickly “It is certainly delicious and I would like to try making it.”

“Why, how about I go and give you the leftovers?” Zenna’s frown turned into a grin quite smoothly in a flash.

“Oh, I couldn’t,” Tifa smiled softly.

“No, really, I always cook too much, it would do Mr Miura some good to eat a bit less anyway,” Zenna said dismissively as she gathered the plates up.

“One would think you’re trying to fatten him up and eat him yourself,” Sky muttered softly.

“What was that now, Sky?” Zenna turned to him with a dangerous gleam in her eye.

“Nothing!” Sky said with a charming smile.

“Now that’s what I thought,” Zenna nodded sternly.

“Anne, have you ever ridden a horse before?” Sky asked.

“No, I haven’t,” Anne replied.

“Well how about I give you a little ride before you go?” Sky grinned.

“Oh, Sky, please…” Tifa said and shifted uncomfortably.

“It’ll be fine,” Sky assured her “Lightning is as tame as a kitten with me around.”

“Kittens have claws,” Tifa said warily.

“As a puppy.”

“Puppies bite.”

“As a rabbit.”

“Rabbits are scary and I don’t trust them.”

“As Timber.”

Tifa raised a sceptical eyebrow and Zenna simpered.

“It’ll be fine,” she assured her “Sky has a way with horses, you’d think he’s part horse himself.”

“It’s just Lightning,” Sky said modestly as he got up and took Anne’s hand “Come on, I’ll help you put on the riding gear and I’ll walk you up and down the pasture.”

“OK!” Anne smiled brightly as she carefully stood up and walked with Sky outside.

 

* * *

 

Anne gripped onto the reins as she felt Lightning walk with Sky next to them.

“It feels so strange,” she said “And people do this as a hobby?”

“Yes, it’s a very calm and peaceful activity normally,” Sky replied “Depending on how moody their horse is.”

Lightning snorted.

“Is there a sport around this as well?”

“Yep, horse racing but I’m a bit tall to be a jockey.”

“Horse racing?” Anne frowned “People get onto horses and race like that?”

“Yes, it’s fairly popular,” Sky explained as they paused, Anne faintly hearing the traffic of Midgar nearby “Jockeys, which is the profession of being a horse racer, tend to be short because apparently they have a better advantage.”

“Why is that?” Anne asked curiously.

“Less weight for the horse to carry,” Sky said “With me as a rider, I’d be pretty heavy with all my muscle and my height.”

“Oh, I see,” Anne nodded in understanding.

“It’s a very dangerous sport, however,” Sky sounded a bit grim.

“How?” Anne asked with a worried frown.

“Well, the big races have hurdles and bushes, et cetera, for horses to jump over.  Some horses don’t make it, some of them get injured from it and some get injured so much that they need to be put down.”

“That’s horrible!” Anne exclaimed and Lightning snorted in agreement.

“These things do happen but people do enjoy it a lot,” Sky murmured “I mean the other month when my leg got broken in rugby, not a lot of people cared.”

“I suppose…” Anne frowned “Sports are so violent.”

“Hey, it’s a chance to show off my masculinity.”

Anne and Sky shared a soft laugh and Lightning neighed happily.

“Anne, am I good enough boyfriend to Lucinda?” he asked.

“I…wouldn’t know,” the question had caught the teenager off guard “You’re a very nice person and I wouldn’t mind to have a boyfriend like you.  Though it wouldn’t kill to talk about a topic other than sports and family.”

Sky chuckled and sighed again.

“She says I attract unwanted attention,” he said “I don’t understand why she thinks that.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Anne grimaced “Wait, people say that Serenity attracts unwanted attention too…”

“Well yeah, she’s really pretty and looks vulnerable so a lot of guys flirt with her,” Sky said.

“Are you sure you’re not attracting some attention from other girls?” Anne asked “Or maybe girls have been flirting with you but you don’t notice it?”

“Uh yeah, I’m pretty sure I’d know if a girl was flirting with me, Anne,” Sky laughed.

“Like the time that a girl came up to us and asked for your number?” Anne asked curiously with the tilt of her head.

“That’s not flirting,” Sky said.

“But the gesture itself means that she wants to get together with you,” Anne said “Isn’t that a form of flirting?”

“Well no…” Sky said.

“I wouldn’t know, ask the other boys about it,” Anne shrugged.

“Alright then,” Sky murmured “Let’s go back.  Do you have anything on this afternoon?”

“I’m just going to go home with Tifa to read peacefully then walk Timber and meet up with you boys at the normal time,” Anne said.

“Sounds like fun,” Sky said as Lightning began to move again.

“Sky?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t be so insecure about being Lucinda’s boyfriend,” Anne said “I’m sure she loves you the way you are.  Perhaps if you sit down with her sometime and talk, you can smooth a few things out.”

“Thanks…” Sky said “I’ll do that tonight.”

Anne smiled warmly in his general direction.  She felt Lightning stop after a while and Sky’s hands on her hips, lifting her down.  She heard him speak softly to Lightning and gasped as Sky raised her hand and place it on something smooth and cool.

“Just stroke her like this,” Sky said as he guided Anne’s hand up and down “She likes that.”

Lightning snorted.

“Oh grow up,” Sky sighed and Anne giggled.

“Can you really understand her?” she asked.

“I can guess what she’s thinking from her general mood,” Sky said “She doesn’t like other girls or children.”

“Maybe she flirts with you too,” Anne giggled.

“Now you’re just being ridiculous.”

Anne giggled more as Sky tussled her hair as she continued stroking Lightning.  She froze up when she heard barking in the distance.

“Timber?” Anne whispered.

“Anne, get away!”

Anne gasped as she was pushed aside and Lightning let out a terrible whinny.

“Timber, come back here!” Tifa called out.

“Ow!” Sky whined.

Lightning snorted and went calm all of a sudden as footsteps rushed towards them.

“Oh my goodness, you’re bleeding!” Tifa exclaimed.

“It’s just a mild bite,” Sky said.

“I was talking about your foot!  What happened?!”

Anne looked around helplessly, worried and wondering what had happened too.

“Well Timber startled Lightning who in turn startled him then she bit and stamped on me,” Sky explained “I manage to get Anne out of her range.”

Anne’s face was met by a big wet nose and a happy tongue.  Lightning snorted and Timber whined, coming behind Anne.

“Huh, not so tough now when you’ve met your match,” Tifa said and Anne recognized her sister’s hands helping her up onto her feet “Should we get you to hospital?”

“No, my mom should have some bandages in the house,” Sky said.

“Oh, let me help you over, your foot looks awful!”

“It’s fine, really,” Sky assured her as Anne felt Tifa give her Timber’s lead.

“No, it’s not,” Tifa said firmly as she guided Anne forward “Anne, stay here and make sure he doesn’t startle any more horses.”

“Alright,” Anne nodded.

“Ow, I said it’s fine, Tifa,” Sky said as she heard them walk away from them.

“You boys always say that something is fine when really it isn’t!”

“But it is fine…”

“No, it’s not!”

Anne smiled thoughtfully as she bent down to comfort Timber.  She was happy that they were getting along alright.  Lightning snorted in the distance and Timber whined again.

“It’s alright, Timber,” she said to him “Just don’t go near her and she won’t hurt you.”

Timber nuzzled her, still whimpering and whining.

“Well, he sure loves to act tough,” Tifa sighed as Anne heard her come over “He still says that he will be able to meet you this afternoon but he’s got a pretty bad limp.”

“Well, Sky will never quit once he’s set his mind to something,” Anne smiled.

“Hn, just like two other boys I know,” Tifa sighed.

“Cloud is like that?” Anne said curiously.

“Yep, he’s set on saving money up for Aerith, you know I told you about her?”

“Oh yes,” Anne grimaced as Timber pulled her along with Tifa holding her hand “Well that’s nice of him.”

“Yeah…”

Tifa went silent and Anne didn’t attempt to make any conversation for the rest of the way home.

 

* * *

 

“Wow, you really improved our fantasy collection compared to the designs last night,” Genesis smiled up at Sephiroth who was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes “I mean what were you thinking?  Frills are so last season.”

“Forgive me, Genesis, I forgot how picky you were,” Sephiroth muttered sleepily “It’s better for me to design without any limitations, remember?”

“But it wouldn’t kill you to do a little bit of research before you put that pencil on your paper,” Genesis said as he lay out the papers before him.

“It’s too much unnecessary work,” Sephiroth argued.

“Oh grow up,” Genesis rolled his eyes and glanced at the designs again “You certainly went overboard with the ribbons for the collection…”

“I can always take a few away,” Sephiroth offered.

“Hn, maybe one or two,” Genesis hummed “I just can’t help get over this feeling that these designs are a little…childish, you’re such a paedophile.”

“Shut up,” Sephiroth muttered as he sipped his coffee.

“Are you like stalking some poor girl and imagining these frilly and cute dresses on her?”

“Very funny,” Sephiroth glared at his smirking friend.

Oh, if Genesis only knew.  The designs he ever gave to Genesis were based on plain mannequins once he’d finished them on Anne’s model.  It would just be so unprofessional and suspicious if he gave the Anne versions of the clothes.

“Well, we’re still in the middle of the summer,” Genesis sighed as he lowered the temperature on his air conditioning a little bit “We’re having such awful heat waves.  Could you consider drawing up a summer collection?  No ribbons or frills mind you.”

But Anne looked so adorable in ribbons and frills.  Sephiroth sighed softly.  Then again, he could use tassels for this summer collection.

“I’ll consider it, the local theatre that’s running Loveless has asked for an entry from me regarding the main character’s costumes.”

“Oh you lucky bastard!” Genesis exclaimed as he whirled around to look up at Sephiroth “You’d better give your all into those costumes, Sephiroth!  I already have a ticket to the first showing with the new cast.”

“Of course you do,” Sephiroth sighed as he took another sip of coffee.

“Oh I’m so jealous now!” Genesis huffed.

“It’s only a job offer, I submit a design then either get accepted or rejected,” Sephiroth shrugged “If it’s accepted, I work on the other costumes.”

“You must show me those designs before submitting them!” Genesis declared and Sephiroth sighed tiredly.

“I promise I will,” he said.

Genesis then continued to natter on about his favourite play as Sephiroth zoned out slowly, his mind slowly filling with Anne posing to be the main character of Loveless.  He smiled to himself as he leaned against the wall behind him.  Even though she may be miles away from him, Sephiroth could picture her perfectly.  And now that Genesis has asked for a summer collection, he was in a better mood than before.  The summer collection was a personal favourite because he could draw Anne in the cutest and simplest outfits that would allow for her to expose parts of her body, such as her limbs and torso and he could simply just daydream all the time, yearning to be able to feel her skin and wonder which parts of her body would be most sensitive to touch.  Sephiroth coughed and shook his head.

“As wonderful as this is, Genesis,” he interrupted Genesis’s rambles “I need to take a break after you’ve overworked me so hard.”

“The only reason I overworked you is because you failed to do your research!” Genesis scowled “I should get you a _Stripes and Polka Dots_ subscription, they always have what’s new and what you shouldn’t be found dead in.”

“I don’t get that magazine because I don’t need to see the reviews for my designs,” Sephiroth sighed.

“Oh suck it up, I don’t praise you like these journalists do,” Genesis drawled as he snatched a magazine from out of his draw and slammed it into his chest.

Sephiroth grunted as he took the magazine and glanced at the cover.  He glared at the blonde model that was posing with a crop top and maxi skirt which he designed for Anne.  Well, it wasn’t the original design, he can reserve that version for Anne herself.  Sephiroth paused briefly in thought.  When exactly was he going to take her away from that miserable life with her sister and those boys?  Yes, Sephiroth had contemplated many times to take his precious angel away and into his care.  But the time never came up.  He was thinking about waiting until she was of legal age to take her away or perhaps take her now and nurture her until the time came.  Sephiroth favoured the idea of taking her away now more as so many perfect opportunities had already slipped by.  But when?  He had his hands full with jobs…

“And then there’s _Shinra Styles_ who totally lack style, I’ll tell you now,” Genesis rambled on about this magazine in his hands “And don’t get me started on _Crescent’s Looks_ , she may look pretty but Lucrecia just can’t compete with our fashions, especially since we’ve had you on our team since forever.”

“Yes, interesting,” Sephiroth said as he lowered the magazine “Goodbye.”

“Hey, wait, I haven’t fin-!”

Sephiroth swiftly slammed the door to Genesis’s office before heading towards the lift.  Fiona gave him an icy glare when the doors opened and she stalked out, brushing past him.  Sephiroth sneered at her back as he got into the lift and pressed for the ground floor.  As he descended, he leafed through the magazine purely out of curiosity.  He scanned the articles quickly, noting what was in season for the summer collection Genesis assigned him.  His mobile indicated that he had gotten a text and he lowered the magazine to check it.

_‘I’ll send you your payment to your address then?’_

Sephiroth smirked as he replied yes.  He stroked the edge of his phone thoughtfully, reminding himself that the beginning of the month was tomorrow, he should be thinking about preparing the money for his angel.  The excitement of visiting her apartment thrilled him and Sephiroth suddenly found himself unable to wait until Tuesday to deliver the money to the Lockhart orphans.  He grinned to himself before letting it fade as the doors opened to the ground floor.  He walked across the lobby, halting as he heard his name being called.  He turned and smiled politely as Scarlet ran up to him.

“So, have you finished the fantasy collection?” she asked with an expectant grin.

“Yes, after Genesis decided to force me to erase a good portion of the designs and redesign them to his liking,” Sephiroth replied.

“Oh good!” Scarlet clasped her hands together “I always enjoy showing off your fabulous work!”

“It is…an honour to have you modelling my designs,” Sephiroth forced himself to say.

“So are you busy tonight?” Scarlet looked up at him, widening her smile if possible.

“Yes, unfortunately I am,” Sephiroth said and Scarlet sighed.

“Oh you, all work and no play!” she pouted and pushed his shoulder playfully “Why don’t you just take a moment to relax and not worry about anything?”

“I did not become one of the top designers in Midgar just by taking moments to relax and not worry,” Sephiroth said a little stiffly as he noticed the time “Now, if you really don’t mind, I’m late for an appointment.”

He briskly walked out of the building and to his car he had parked outside.  He discarded the magazine in his hand onto the backseat behind him before pulling out of the car park and driving off to Sector Seven.

 

* * *

 

“That mare must have some bite to have your hand bandaged up like that,” Luka nodded to Sky’s left hand.

Sky sighed as he turned his hand over to look at the way his mother had tied the bandages tightly over the bite Lightning had given him earlier this afternoon.

“Well, it’s not that serious,” he said “Though I might need to get some stitches.”

“Oh, I hate stitches,” Asa winced “I got bitten by a dog once and I had to have them under my eye and under my chin.  It was horrible, especially when they had to be taken out.”

Both Luka and Sky winced at the thought and turned to their drinks to distract themselves.  It was a Sunday in the restaurant, slightly packed with customers but they somehow managed to get their own table as usual.

“Hey, do I attract unwanted attention?” Sky asked with a curious frown.

“Yes,” Luka and Asa said as Erik nodded whilst reading his book.

“Wait, really?” Sky blinked.

“Yeah, seriously, look behind you,” Luka nodded behind Sky.

Sky turned around and saw the group of girls nearby giggle and turn away from him abruptly.

“They might have been looking at you,” Sky said as he glanced at Luka.

“You get more girls come up to you to flirt with you than Luka,” Asa said.

“No I don’t,” Sky frowned.

“Yeah, you do,” Luka and Asa said as Erik nodded whilst turning the page of his book.

Sky snorted and shook his head.

“Look, if someone came up to me a flirted with me, wouldn’t I know about it?” he asked.

“You’d be the last, trust me,” Luka raised an eyebrow as he picked up his green tea.

“No, no girls have ever flirted with me…”

“Here you go, Sky,” Daisy, their waitress, came with a cappuccino “On the house.”

“Thanks, Daisy,” Sky smiled, ignorant to the flutter of her eyelashes.

She giggled and sauntered off, swaying her hips.  Sky turned back to the table and was met with two odd looks, Erik’s eyes still glued to his book.

“What?” he asked.

“She flirted with you!” Luka and Asa said as Erik nodded, pushing his reading glasses up his nose.

“She didn’t…” Sky frowned.

“She gave you a cappuccino without you ordering it and said it was on the house!” Asa said “Then she fluttered her eyelashes at you in that flirty way.  And if that wasn’t enough, she swayed her hips in a suggestive manner.  How can you not see that she’s flirting with you?”

“Well, she’s just a very nice girl…” Sky said slowly.

“She was flirting with you!” Luka and Asa said as Erik nodded, running a finger along his current page.

Sky paused and glanced over his shoulder where Daisy had retreated into the kitchen.  He then glanced back at the boys.

“Wow, how much has that happened?” he asked nervously.

“All the time!” Luka and Asa said as Erik nodded, brushing some hair out of his eyes.

“How long for?”

“Since forever!”

Erik nodded before sneezing.  Sky stared ahead blankly, his eyes now fully open to the flirtation around him.

“But…why?”

“You’re handsome,” Asa stated.

“You’re charming,” Luka added.

“And your physique is better than all of ours combined,” Erik murmured.

Sky stared at them in disbelief before glancing at the table of girls again.  They giggled again as they turned away sharply, blushes colouring their cheeks.  Sky blinked as he paused to think for a minute then turned back to the boys.

“Wow, Lucinda wasn’t kidding…” he muttered.

The bell rung and the boys perked up to see Anne and Timber come in.  Timber yanked his owner over to them eagerly and sat under the table, wagging his tail happily.  Luka and Erik shifted to let Anne scoot to her seat and Erik lowered his book down.

“Erik, how was _Tag, You’re It_?” Anne asked and Erik shivered.

“Didn’t sleep very well, I can tell you that,” he said.

“You seriously watched that freaky horror film?” Asa said.

“Marlene Wallace stars in it as Marilyn,” Luka said “Was she just as scary as when she was in _Death and Hell_?”

“Probably…scarier…” Erik whispered, looking a bit pale.

“Oh, Erik,” Sky sighed and shook his head whilst drinking his cappuccino.

“I can’t wait for it to come out on DVD,” Anne smiled “I’d be able to watch it with the audio description.  Doesn’t Vincent himself cameo in it?”

“Yes, he’s one of the fathers in the opening scene,” Erik said “He also narrates part of the ending.”

“I can’t wait,” Anne smiled happily “He has a very strong and emotional voice.”

“Yeah, must make his wife melt just by saying one sentence,” Luka said dryly.

“Hey, you never told us how your audition went,” Asa said.

Luka shrugged as he stared ahead thoughtfully.

“I gave my all into it and I can only wait until next week to see if they’re going to call me back or not.  I’m really nervous.”

“Well, you should at least get into the chorus,” Sky shrugged “Either way, having the chance to perform in Loveless is going to be your big break.”

“Yes, they might make a play adaption of _Tag, You’re It_ ,” Asa snickered and Erik flinched at the title “I can totally see you as Fernando.”

“That paedophilic headmaster who gets caught first?” Luka raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Asa snickered loudly and yelped sharply when Luka kicked his leg.

“Luka, you’re so violent,” Anne commented.

“I’m not that violent,” Luka said with a soft scowl “Asa just happens to be at the receiving end of my punches and kicks, especially when he insults my talent and looks.”

Asa just cackled.

“Asa, one day he’ll hit you with a car,” Sky smirked.

“I’d like to see him try,” Asa folded his arms.

“Is that a challenge, my dear Asa?” Luka’s silver eyes gleamed maliciously.

“Scary,” Erik whispered as he clenched onto Anne’s arms.

“Ah, see?  You’d be a perfect zombie! Owww!”

“Can I get you anything?” Daisy asked as she approached their table again, Asa bringing his legs up to rest on his seat, glaring at a glowering Luka.

“Iced mocha please,” Anne said.

“I’ll have another green tea, my dear,” Luka said with a wink as he pushed his cup over before continuing to glower at Asa.

Sky noted the way Daisy sneaked him a look, giggled and took down the order before taking Luka’s cup away. 

“She does know that I have a girlfriend, right?” he said.

“Well no-one would be stupid enough to think you didn’t have a girlfriend with the way you act and look,” Asa raised an eyebrow “Either that or they might think you’re gay.”

“Which you look like you might be too,” Luka smirked.

“I don’t look gay,” Sky frowned.

“You do,” Luka and Asa said as Erik nodded, Anne staying still as she frowned curiously.

“Can we please stop this?!” Sky barked.

The boys laughed at the rare fury that shone in Sky’s eyes.

 

* * *

 

Sephiroth licked his lips discretely as he finished the first sketch of Anne in a midriff top and shorts.  He glanced over at the table where she was now, listening to Sky protest that he didn’t look like a gay man.  She listened to the argument go back and forth curiously, lacing her fingers together and leaning into Erik to whisper something.  She giggled and shoved him lightly and Erik chuckled with her.  Sephiroth glanced back at his sketchbook and turned over to a blank page, quickly and precisely drawing a blank mannequin to transfer the Anne design to.

“Here you go, sir,” Cissnei arrived with his coffee “Anything else, you’d like?”

“No, thank you,” Sephiroth politely smiled at her briefly before returning to his sketch.

“Um, may I ask you a question?”

Sephiroth stilled momentarily before lifting his head to look up at her.

“Where do you get your inspiration from?” she asked with the tilt of her head “ _Rhapsodonian Fabrics_ are known to be a very high class company, it must take a really talented designer to be able to sell his designs to them.”

“Hm,” Sephiroth hummed as he fought the urge to glance over at the table where Anne was “I suppose if I see someone, I imagine them with different clothes and draw them out.  My client takes a look at them and adjusts something if they don’t like it.”

“How did you manage to get into contact with the head of _Rhapsodian Fabrics_?”

“We’ve been friends since university,” Sephiroth replied “He majored more in business than art though.”

“That’s so lucky!” Cissnei exclaimed and giggled behind her tray.

“I wouldn’t say lucky, more convenient,” Sephiroth sighed “He gets rather grumpy if I don’t give in my designs on time.  Spends most of the time criticising them too and ordering for me to change them.”

“Wow, so-”

“Cissnei, table seven’s order is ready!” Rude called as he pushed out a plate of pastries.

“Oh, OK!” Cissnei said with a disappointed look as she left. 

Sephiroth felt his brow twitch softly.  Where all the girls here so nosy?  Glancing at Anne, he smiled happily before continuing the design on the plain mannequin.  It didn’t matter, it was worth it.  So long as he could see his beautiful angel.  Sephiroth flipped back to the page and stroked her picture with a soft look in his eyes. 

“Soon,” he promised to himself “I’m going to rescue you soon, I promise.  Just hang in there a little longer, my sweet princess…my angel…”

He didn’t want to wait anymore, he wanted to take her away.  Five years of just remaining in the background where she couldn’t acknowledge his presence…that was how long it took to finally come to the decision to finally take her.  Then he would wait for another two and a half years until she was fully ready to have her virtue compromised.  Rip her wings off and imprison her where no-one could find her.  She would be upset at first, of course.  She would be terrified to suddenly be in such foreign surroundings but she would come to accept the terms that she was in a better place now.  She would be safe with him and she would know that all she could ever need was him.  The memories of her friends and her sister would fade, like the memories of her parents had faded.  Sephiroth closed his eyes and breathed out quietly, slowly falling into his own fantasy.

She would have her own bedroom instead of sharing one with her sister.  Her own wardrobe of clothes, only the ones that Sephiroth had designed for her though.  She may listen to audiobooks, read them in braille too, listen to DVDs with the audio description and record her own stories.  He would take her out for walks too, out in the woods and through the fields around his home.  She would love being there and he would pay Angeal to have the bionic eye treatment done to her.  It would be the perfect birthday present, to give her the gift of sight.  She would have to adore and love him after that, surely.  Then afterwards, they can get married, start a family and they would be so happy together.  Sephiroth smiled to himself as he imagined Anne in her wedding dress.  She would be the most beautiful bride ever and he would be the luckiest man alive to be able to have her.

Sephiroth opened his eyes and gazed down at the sketch of her.  He picked up a pencil and began sketching large angel wings on her.  She was beautiful, so divine, his precious angel.  And if he couldn’t have her, no-one could.  Sephiroth hesitated at that last thought and sat back, grimacing.  He would never hurt his princess, why would he think of such a sinister thought?  Sephiroth glanced back at Anne and smiled, adoration shining in his eyes.  His gaze suddenly turned dark as he saw Luka reach over and tuck a strand of hair behind Anne’s ear.

“Don’t touch her,” he muttered softly.

It wasn’t long before his mind began filling with fantasies of killing Luka, along with Asa perhaps.  Sky and Erik, he might mildly torture them, perhaps scare Erik to death.  Yes, that would be easy to get away with, no-one could persecute him for ‘accidentally’ scaring a poor boy to death.  Sky could possibly do with a couple of knife wounds, punches and kicks probably wouldn’t do much to his physique.  Asa’s death seemed to be fitting if he simply just pushed him off a building.  Sephiroth didn’t know why, it just seemed like a good way to go for the young magician.  But Luka, oh Sephiroth would love to just torture him to the brink of death the nurse him back to health to just do it all again.  That cocky, arrogant brat!  Sephiroth clenched his fists tightly as he imagined pouring boiling oil all over him very, very, very slowly…

“I’ll stay and pay,” Luka offered after a while, snapping him out of his reverie.

“Thanks, Luka,” Asa said as he shuffled out of the booth “I’ll pay tomorrow, OK?”

“You’d better,” Luka smirked as Timber led Anne out of the café.

Sephiroth nodded for the bill as he gathered up his sketchpad, pencils and pens.

 

* * *

 

“Let me walk you home,” Sky said as he followed Anne with a slight limp.

“Are you sure?” Anne blinked up at him uncertainly “Your foot…”

“Tifa was over exaggerating, it’s fine,” Sky grinned as he took hold of Anne’s hand.

Anne blinked and nodded.

“Well, if you insist,” she said and Timber continued to pull them along the street.

Sky turned his head to look over his shoulder out of habit when the little bell to the restaurant sounded.  He blinked when he saw that man that normally sat near them come out.  Wasn’t he the one that worked at _Rhapsodonian Fabrics_?  Sky shrugged it off, he didn’t care much for fashion.  But still, that man gave off a scary aura.  So silent, like a hunter stalking his prey.  Sky shook his head.  He was being ridiculous.  You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover anyway.  Perhaps he was just a normal man who just happened to earn a living through fashion design.  Sky shook his head at his paranoia.

“Apparently I do attract some unwanted attention,” he said “I don’t know how I didn’t notice it.”

“Well maybe it’s a good thing,” Anne shrugged “Because you don’t notice it, it could mean that you only have eyes for Lucinda.”

“Maybe…” Sky muttered “I guess I could try to bring it up with her tonight.”

“She could jump straight to panic mode when she sees your injuries,” Anne said as she ran a thumb over the bandages on Sky’s hand.

“No, I shouldn’t procrastinate something that she sees as an issue,” Sky shook his head “I’m a man, not a wuss.”

“A gay man,” Anne said.

“I’m not gay nor do I look it!” Sky protested and groaned “I’m going to kill Luka, I swear…”

“Oh don’t kill Luka!” Anne exclaimed “He has that very big play to perform in!”

Sky huffed in frustration and frowned.

“Fine then,” he said “straight after his final performance, I will kill him.”

“You might forget by then,” Anne teased.

“I’ll tattoo it onto my hand just to make sure!”

“But he will see.”

“It will be invisible ink.”

“Then how will you remember?”

“My hand will really hurt and that would remind me that I need to kill Luka for calling me gay.”

Anne giggled and shook her head.

“You’re so sensitive, no wonder they think you’re gay.”

“I’m not gay,” Sky growled and looked away “If I was, I wouldn’t be going out with Lucinda then, would I?”

“No, I suppose not.”

Anne giggled as Timber dragged them around the corner and eagerly down to the block of apartments.

“Would you like to come up and see Tifa?” Anne offered “You won’t need to go up any stairs, just come into the lift with me.”

“OK, sure,” Sky smiled.

Out of the corner of his eye, he swore he saw that man from before.  But when he turned his head he saw no-one.  Shrugging, he walked into the building with Anne to take the lift up to her floor.  Timber whined and raised a paw to scratch at the buttons, making a loud scraping sound.

“Timber, no, that’s not good for the lift,” Anne scolded and Timber whined.

“He hasn’t been trained to take lifts then,” Sky said and Timber whimpered, rubbing his paws against the metal floor.

“No but it’s alright, I normally ask someone to help me,” Anne shrugged.

“You trust a lot of people easily,” Sky raised an eyebrow at her “You be careful, someone might take advantage on you.”

“Timber’s my bodyguard, remember?” Anne giggled as Timber dragged her out of the lift once it arrived at her floor.

Sky followed her as Timber stuck his nose to the door of their apartment, tail wagging happily and tongue lolling out as Anne fiddled with her key and managed to get into the apartment.

“Sky’s here,” Anne called.

“Sky, you go back home right now and get some rest!” Tifa bellowed and Sky jumped.

“It’s not that bad…” Sky murmured.

“Your mother said that you need stitches!  Stitches!  Don’t tell me that it’s not that bad!”

“Tifa, calm down,” Anne said “You’re acting like someone else’s older sister again.”

“Well it sure looks like to me that he needs one to keep him in check,” Tifa said as she rolled the dough out “Sky, you want to eat here?  I’m making pizza.”

“No, I have a date with Lucinda,” Sky smiled “A night in at her place.”

“Don’t you work yourself too hard,” Tifa smirked and Sky blushed.

“No, not like that…” he muttered shyly “Um, bye, Anne.”

“Bye, Sky,” Anne smiled in his general direction as he closed the door.

Sky smiled as he limped back to the lift and went down.  His mind was at a calm ease until he saw that man from before walking into the hotel opposite the block of apartments.  He frowned.  Maybe he was being paranoid?  It did seem a bit…off to see him.  But how long had he been at that restaurant that he and the other meet up at normally?  Sky only noticed him the other day when Elena had exclaimed rather loudly that he had worked at _Rhapsodonian Fabrics_.  Maybe he just visited because it was convenient?  Sky shook his head, he was being paranoid.  After all, what were the chances that they had been stalked?  Sky took a look at the time on his watch and began limping down the street to the bus stop.  He didn’t take notice of the girls sharing a cigarette nearby until one came along and tapped his shoulder.

“Excuse me,” she giggled as her friends huddled around in a small bunch, watching her “But is it true that you’re gay?”

Sky recognized that they were the girls from the restaurant and shook his head.

“No, I’m not.  I have a girlfriend whom I love very much.”

“Aw!” the girls whined in disappointment.

The next bus came and Sky didn’t even bother to check if it was the right one as he got onto it hastily before they could harass him any further.  As he sat in the back seat with his purchased ticket clasped tightly in his hand, he glanced back and saw the girls waving him goodbye eagerly.  He sighed tiredly.  Maybe it would have been better to not ask about attracting unwanted attention to the guys.

 

* * *

 

Anne was giggling delightfully, brushing her hair whilst sitting on her bed, her fingers trailing after the brush through the ebony waves.  It was simply a sight to behold.  Sephiroth was standing in the doorframe, watching her peacefully.  His eyes watched as she pulled back another handful of hair and ran her brush through it.  She was wearing a rather provocative nightgown, causing his mouth to grow dry.  His angel simply looked ravishing.  That nightgown was sleeveless and stopped just below her hips.  Everything about her current image just screamed for him to take her, claim her and make her his.  But no, Sephiroth shook his head, not now, not when she was still so innocent and naïve.  She paused suddenly then smiled in his general direction.

“Is that you, Sephiroth?” she asked and Sephiroth took in a breath.

“Yes, of course, my angel,” he whispered and walked forward “It’s always me.”

Anne giggled again as he knelt by her, fingers tracing the lace on her nightgown.

“This…this is…” he murmured.

“You said this was one you designed especially for me,” she said as she reached out and found his face.

Sephiroth’s eyes fluttered close at her touch and smiled.

“Yes, yes it is,” he said “Only for you, no-one else.”

“It feels nice,” Anne placed her hairbrush down to touch the black silk.

“I only make sure you have the best,” Sephiroth whispered “Only you are worthy of such pleasures and luxuries.”

He lay his head on her lap and hugged her legs tightly.  He smiled as she stroked his face and hair, sighing contently.

“My angel, my princess,” he whispered “You’re perfect, so perfect.”

“Sephiroth, you’re embarrassing me,” Anne giggled and Sephiroth looked up at her.

“Don’t be,” he said “You’re beautiful, wonderful, perfect…”

He ran a hand over her knee and sighed.

“And mine,” he murmured darkly “Mine and no-one else’s.”

“Yours,” Anne echoed as her petite hand came and caressed his cheek “Always yours.  Never Erik’s.  Never Sky’s.  Never Asa’s.  And never Luka’s.  Always yours for eternity.”

“Yes,” Sephiroth moaned softly and nuzzled her hand “Always.  Now and forever.”

Sephiroth leaned up from her lap and closed his eyes to meet his lips with hers…

 

* * *

 

Sephiroth woke up slowly as daylight filtered through the hotel room.  He stared blearily at the window and got up with a disappointed groan.  Walking over, he gazed across to where the Lockharts lived, smiling happily when he saw Tifa was dressing her sister as normal.  Sephiroth leaned against the window, imagining that one day he would need to help Anne get dressed.  He let out another groan, flexing his fingers with the need and want to run them across Anne’s skin. 

“Soon, my angel,” he whispered “I promise, I’m going to take you away soon.  All we need to do is wait just a little longer.”

He leaned his forehead against the cool glass and smiled maliciously.

“Just wait for me,” he whispered, breath condensing on the glass “And I’ll take you to paradise.”

He sighed dreamily, closing his eyes and calling back the memory of his wonderful dream.  He would definitely need to design and create that nightgown for real for Anne and only Anne to wear in his presence.


	3. Chapter 3

Sephiroth licked his lips as he pressed his hand against the door which led to the Lockhart apartment. In his hand, he carried the envelope which had the money in to give to the sisters. Anne was all alone with Timber, Tifa had left to go grocery shopping. This would be a perfect opportunity to take Anne and run but with that mongrel and the risk of running into Tifa, Sephiroth decided that it would be best to just leave her for the time being. With a thoughtful sigh, he knocked on the door. Timber barked and he lay down the envelope in front of the door. He stepped away as Anne opened the door and stared blankly out. He couldn't help but smile softly at her beautiful red eyes that stared out unseeingly. He wanted to see those eyes every day.

"Hello?" she called out nervously "Timber, no! Sit."

Timber whined as he wagged his tail but sat down, eyes trained on Sephiroth. Anne stepped forward and reached out.

"Is that you, Tifa?" she asked as Sephiroth admired that tiny hand in wonder "Did you forget something?"

She took another step forward and her bare foot stood on the envelope, her fingers inches away from discovering Sephiroth's chest. She looked down and crouched, her hand finding the envelope. Sephiroth licked his lips and kept his breathing in check as he saw the way her breasts bulged over her bra from underneath her top. It must be on too tight. Timber let out another bark as Anne stood and felt the envelope. She froze and lifted her head. Sephiroth felt his heart beat faster as he saw those eyes again, those beautiful, captivating eyes. His eyes, his princess, his angel, all his…

"Is someone there?!" she called out stepping out more, causing Sephiroth to step back "Hello?!"

She waved her hand out in front of her, her facial expression looking confused. Sephiroth reached out slowly, fingers just hovering over the skin of her cheeks. Oh, the urge to just take her then. To capture her like a little bird and trap him in his arms so he could forever hold and feel her. Sephiroth bit his lip as she took another step forward and he took a step back.

"Please, are you the person who's leaving this money?" she continued talking, still unsure to whether she was either talking to air or talking to someone "I just…want to say thank you…it's really helped us a lot."

Sephiroth's heart fluttered and he smiled widely as he tried to control his breathing. He wanted to tell her that she was welcome. That one day, he'll be coming and taking her away to somewhere where she'll never have to worry about anything. That he loved her. Sephiroth smiled wistfully as he continued moving his hand over her face. He jumped a bit when her hand rose up and Anne stepped back, looking startled after finding his wandering hand. Her slim fingers traced his knuckles, tickling them and summoning goose bumps to Sephiroth's arms. Sephiroth stretched his fingers to brush hers then glared at the dog who growled warily at him.

"Timber, no," Anne scolded over her shoulder.

She looked back at Sephiroth's chest, examining his larger hand. Sephiroth smiled happily as everything else just seemed to melt away. Her hands reached forward and met with his chest. Anne frowned as she felt her way up, standing on the tips of her toes to reach his shoulders. Sephiroth bent down and brought her hands up to his cheeks. Anne tilted her head as she began tracing him. Sephiroth then knew that she was definitely an angel because right now, he was in heaven. He nearly melted at her soft touch, smiling happily as her thumbs touched the corners of his lips. He then opened his eyes sadly as he knew Tifa would be coming soon. Anne gasped as he cupped her cheeks and drew his face close, his breath tickling her lips.

"Soon, my angel," he whispered.

"Wh-What?" Anne whispered as Timber let out a growl.

"Soon, it'll all be over. I promise."

Resisting the urge to claim her lips, those kissable and soft looking lips, Sephiroth pulled away and made his way back to the lift. Timber barked again and he jogged, knowing that the massive mutt was after him.

"Wait! Timber!"

Sephiroth called for the elevator, which conveniently remained on the same floor and stepped in, pressing the button for the ground floor. Timber stopped outside the lift and barked at him as the doors slid shut. With a soft sigh of relief, Sephiroth ran his hand through his hair. That dog was so irritating. He would need to get rid of him if he was going to ever take his Anne. Sephiroth grinned happily and leaned on the side of the lift. She touched him. She touched him! Sephiroth gingerly felt where her fingers had been not long ago. To have that gentle touch everyday… Sephiroth shuddered softly, groaning. He wanted more, so much more.

"Soon, Anne," he whispered "Soon, it's just going to be you and me. Soon…I promise…"

Sephiroth lifted his head when he reached the ground floor and tensed slightly when he saw Tifa on the other side. She smiled politely and he nodded curtly, exiting as she went in.

Sephiroth crossed the street to his car and got in, fingering the steering wheel thoughtfully. He closed his eyes and let out another soft moan. The mere memory of Anne's gentle and warm touch stirred more arousal in him.

"Anne," he whispered "My Anne…"

He bit his lip and leaned his head on the steering wheel. He needed to take her soon, but when? Maybe on Friday, he'll take Anne. He had plans on Wednesday and Thursday and considering that it was predicted to be nice weather on Friday, Anne will be out in the park at the normal time. Sephiroth would use the opportunity to figure out how to get Timber out of the way then take Anne. Problem was, where could he get chloroform to take out that stupid mutt? Or better yet seriously injure him so he dies? Sephiroth shook his head. That would be suspicious, he only needed to have the dog get away from Anne. Sephiroth glanced at his phone and paused. Actually, maybe Angeal would have something in his office. Sephiroth smirked to himself. Maybe he should pay a visit to his old friend.

* * *

Tifa blinked in surprise as she saw Timber waiting by the elevator. His ears pricked up curiously when he saw her and he stood up, wagging his tail.

"Timber?" she said as she came out and Timber barked happily, sniffing her grocery bags "What are you doing here?"

She looked up then briskly walked over to where Anne was standing with a rather anxious look on her face.

"Anne, what are you doing out here, you silly girl?" she demanded loudly, startling her poor sister "You know it's dangerous to just linger around here where anyone could take advantage of you."

"Well…well…"

Anne held up the envelope of money and Tifa's eyes widened. That looked just like the envelope that the money came in every month.

"The person…I think I met them…" Anne murmured "They're really tall and they have such…rough hands. Timber went after them…"

"Anne, get back inside," Tifa said hastily and whistled for Timber as she dropped the bags on the sofa.

Anne looked startled as she backed into the apartment and Tifa hastily shut the door, ever the overprotective sister. Tifa then sprinted back to the lift, cursing when she saw it was busy so ran down the stairs instead. Her mind was racing. Finally! She might be able to confront this mysterious donor! For over a year they've been getting this money and with no idea where it's been coming from and finally, perhaps…just maybe… Tifa gasped for breath as she reached the ground floor and looked up with wide eyes as she recognized the man from the lift in his car across the street, his head pressed to the steering wheel. He lifted his head and started the engine.

"No, wait!" Tifa breathed out as she tore across the lobby "Wait!"

She was too late, the car sped down the street as soon as she reached outside onto the pavement. She let out an exasperated breath, gasping as she bent over, hands on her knees. She stared after the car pleadingly, as if it would turn around and come back if she did, and sighed in disappointment. She collapsed to her knees, punching the pavement in frustration until her knuckles burned, probably a bit damp from blood. She took in a deep breath and shook her hands out.

"Damn it," she whispered.

She breathed in and out, cursing when she realised she forgot to take down the license plate of the car. She closed her eyes tight, trying to recall the information and shook her head when she found out it was hopeless. But she got a clear view of the man. All she could do is keep an extra eye out for him and confront him when she next saw him. She began picturing him in her head. Yes, long silver hair and a tall stature. That sounded familiar, she should be able to spot him easily if she ever saw him again.

"Tifa?"

Tifa looked up and smiled as she recognized Erik standing next to her with an ice cream. The girl on his arm frowned at her curiously, nibbling on her chocolate flake. Tifa felt a bit nervous under her gaze.

"What are you doing on the floor?" she asked slowly as Tifa got up and dusted her knees down "Did you drop a contact or something?"

"Well…the lift was taking too long to reach my floor and I was in a rush so ran down the stairs," Tifa panted softly.

"But you're on floor seven," Erik said tilting his head.

"Yeah, I know."

"You couldn't have waited until the lift came to your floor?"

"No, it really was urgent and important," Tifa sighed as she stretched herself out.

"Umm, Erik aren't you going to introduce me," the girl on his arm nudged his side "to this lovely woman whom I've never ever heard of?"

"Oh, uh, this is Tifa," Erik said nodding to Tifa "She's Anne's sister, we met briefly. Tifa, this is my girlfriend, Zephyr."

"Ah, the famous Anne's sister," Zephyr purred as she unwrapped her arm from Erik's to extend it for a handshake "I've been asking Erik over and over to meet this Anne for so long, it's nice to meet another person who is close to her."

Tifa felt awkward at the way Zephyr's voice dripped with sarcasm. Erik blushed bashfully and cleared his throat.

"I've invited you to join us during the late afternoons when we all meet up," he murmured softly.

"And I've told you time and again, I am busy at that time," Zephyr smiled sweetly as she wrapped her arm back around his "You know law school isn't easy."

"Well, Anne has a strict daily routine…" Erik replied.

"She's up in the apartment now, how about you two come up to say hello?" Tifa suggested as she eyed the way Zephyr possessively squeezed his arm.

"No, thank you," Zephyr said before Erik could open his mouth "But we're on our way to the skate park."

She flashed her backpack and Tifa saw the wheels of rollerblades sticking out.

"Oh, I see," Tifa nodded, noting the way Erik looked uncomfortable with the idea of skating "It's a lovely day to go skating."

"Yes, it's going to be great," Zephyr sighed "I finally get to see Erik in action."

"Ah ha…yeah, looking forward to it," Erik nodded nervously.

"So, we'll be going," Zephyr smiled before licking some more ice cream from her cone "It was nice meeting you."

Tifa stepped aside as Zephyr tugged Erik eagerly along the pavement. She watched after them with a soft frown. That didn't look like a happy relationship but it wasn't really any of her business. She wondered if Anne would know what their relationship was like. With a shrug, she walked back into the lobby and called the lift, kicking her legs out as they finally began to ache from running down so many stairs. She smiled politely to the resident inside as the lift reached the ground floor and went in as he went out. She patiently waited for the lift to reach her floor whilst lifting one foot to rest on the wall, kneading tenderly as it began burning in her shoes. As she walked out of the lift when it reached the floor she called, she gazed out at the view from the balcony at the bleak looking city. She heaved a sigh.

"What a world," she muttered.

* * *

"It'll be over? Soon? It'll be over soon? What will be over soon? I'm confused… Soon it'll be over?"

Timber whined as Anne sat on the sofa, staring ahead in thought. She laced her fingers together to lean on them, frowning.

"What do you think he meant by that, Timber?" she asked "It'll be over soon? What will be over soon?"

Timber lay his head on her lap and she tickled his ears.

"Why does he send us money?" she continued asking "What's his purpose? I don't recognize his voice…"

She rubbed her fingers together as she remember how calloused the person's hands had been.

"Did he call me an…angel?" she asked Timber again and lifted her hands to touch her cheeks where his hands had been "No…he called me 'his' angel."

Her stomach began cramping violently. She whimpered and curled up, causing Timber to whine in concern. She began shivering violently and covered her mouth. She felt frightened and awful. Like she'd throw up any minute. Anne couldn't remember a time when she felt like this. Not even the horror books and films she's listened to made her feel this sick. But why was she feeling so scared and horrified now? That man…he'd only given her a mild surprise, right? It was pretty unexpected and she had been startled to have come into contact with the donor. There was no real reason to be so scared but…

"Why…why do I feel like this?" she whispered helplessly.

Something about that man's tone just didn't feel right. She'd only heard that tone of voice somewhere else before but she wasn't entirely sure from where… Anne whimpered again as she bit her thumb nervously as soon as she remembered.

"Soraco from  _Death and Hell_ …" she whined and plugged her ears.

The obsessive demon who dragged angels and virgins down to hell so he could eat them and preserve their bones to construct their skeletons as trophies. And in the end, he was never killed by the hero. Anne shook her head furiously. That was ridiculous, there wasn't a demon after her. Maybe it was a serial killer or rapist that was planning to make her his first victim… Anne whined again and Timber whimpered helplessly. Damn her imagination! Did she really need to blow things out of proportion? Maybe it really was her imagination. Of course, there wasn't any point to being scared, he'd only said…

_"Soon, my angel. Soon it'll all be over. I promise."_

…Oh Odin, he is going to rape and murder her! What if he's using the money donations to trick them? Was he bidding to buy her or something similar and macabre? Or maybe he's targeting Tifa? Maybe he wants to kill her? Anne shook her head hurriedly. Who would want to kill Tifa? She is the kindest soul anyone's ever known. Or perhaps they would target Tifa in order to get to her? Anne shook her head again. She needed to be realistic! Her imagination was just taking over again. Surely there was perfectly reasonable explanation to his words? Something like…he is going to rape and murder her. Anne let out another frustrated whine as the door opened.

"Anne?" Tifa's voice met her ears "Anne, is something wrong?"

"Tifa, I feel sick, my stomach is cramping and it's not because my period is due," Anne whimpered "I feel dizzy and shaky and…and…"

"Ssh, ssh…" Tifa soothed "It's alright, it's alright, you probably got a bit shaken up by meeting that man."

Anne wanted to tell Tifa about the man's words but at the same time she didn't. Tifa had so much to worry about already and it probably didn't matter. They were only words after all, probably didn't mean anything at all.

"You must be hungry!" Tifa said brightly to take their minds off the recent events "What would you fancy?"

"Oh, uh, what did you get?" Anne said as she continued stroking Timber.

"How about…some lasagne?"

"If you insist…" Anne said with a nod.

"You know, it's beautiful weather we're having today," Tifa said as Anne heard the saucepan being filled with water and prepared to boil "We can got for a walk."

"That would be nice," Anne nodded "Timber would like that too, wouldn't you, Timber, you silly boy?"

Timber barked happily at the idea of a walk.

"And how about I take you to buy a new audio book or a new braille book afterwards?" Tifa offered as Timber jumped on the sofa and lay himself on top of Anne's legs, licking her cheek "Then you can go about your usual routine, go to the park and meet up with your friends. How about I come with you?"

"It's…alright, Tifa," Anne said "Timber takes care of me in the park and I'll let one of the boys walk me home."

"Are you sure? I can just stay with you by the park and we can talk, spend more time together and…"

"Tifa, don't you normally spend time with Cloud then?" Anne smiled.

"Well, yeah but he can understand…"

There was a pause and Anne heard Tifa take the packaging off what she assumed would be the lasagne.

"I'll call him and then we can arrange a time where you can spend some time with Cloud too," she suggested "That way you can get to know him better too."

"OK," Anne nodded "Is he nice?"

"Very, don't you worry about him," Tifa laughed "He won't go and kidnap you."

Anne giggled nervously with a sense of foreboding at the back of her mind.

"Tifa, thank you," Anne smiled as she kept petting Timber "You're the best sister in the whole world."

"Well, I try," Tifa laughed "I'd do anything for you, little sister."

Anne turned her head towards where she heard Tifa chopping up ingredients for the lasagne, frowning in a concerned manner.

"Tifa, what's going to happen if you meet someone you really like and want to settle down? You know, decide to have children and be like our parents?"

This may have caught Tifa off guard as Anne heard the knife drop.

"Well, maybe we might get married?" she said uncertainly.

"And what of me?"

"Anne, listen to me," Tifa said firmly "I will never leave you. If I get married, you'll come and live with us."

"What if I find someone too?"

Anne felt Tifa's hand on her head.

"Then they better make you happy," she said "Anne, you don't need to worry about this. It'll be a good few more years until I ever think of settling down, OK?"

"O-OK," Anne nodded.

"Good, now lasagne!"

Anne sat still, thinking as she normally did. She listened to Tifa's sounds of cooking and the smell of boiling water with salt and mince being cooked.

"Hey, Anne, it's struck me for a second," Tifa spoke up "But why are your only friends boys?"

"What?" Anne felt startled at the sudden question.

"Sky, Erik, Asa and Luka," Tifa listed her friends "All boys but no girls. Even Timber's a boy!"

Timber barked in response.

"That's not true, Serenity's a friend," Anne frowned "You're my friend."

"I'm your sister and you don't hang out with Serenity often," Tifa replied "Have you met any of their girlfriends?"

"No but I hear a lot about them," Anne shook her head.

"Well I was thinking, maybe it would be nice to have some friends who are girls," Tifa suggested "I would take you to meet Aerith but the hospital will stink of chemicals, it might upset you."

Anne didn't respond, just petted Timber.

* * *

Anne circled the rim of her glass slowly as the boys chattered about this and that. Timber lay by her feet, where she could bury her tiny toes into his black shaggy fur. But no matter how much she played with his fur, those words from this morning continued to repeat themselves in her head like a mantra. The tone, the voice… She blinked when Erik pulled her aside to avoid getting shoved by Asa who was having another arm wrestling match with Sky.

"Come on, even with my handicaps and not putting all my strength into it, you can't even move me," Sky laughed.

"Oh! Yes! I! Can!" Asa strained.

"No you can't you're actually sweating over this."

"No I'm not!"

"And your face is going red with all the strain."

"It's not!"

"This is even the hand with my stitches in!"

"Sky got stitches?" Anne echoed.

"Yeah, you know from when Lightning bit him," Luka said.

"I thought his mother just bandaged it up?"

"No, he just told us that he went to the hospital earlier and they said he needed stitches so stitches the wound up," Erik said "Anne, are you alright? You've been spacing out…"

"I'm fine," Anne insisted.

"Really? You do know that's Erik's glass?" Sky said as Asa continued straining against him.

"How would I know, I'm blind," Anne shrugged.

"Yes but you ordered hot chocolate which isn't served in a glass," Erik reminded her and Anne tensed.

Anne tapped her finger against the glass and set it back down on the table.

"Sorry, Erik," she murmured.

"Anne, is something bothering you?" Sky asked.

Anne bit her lip but didn't want to bring up the strange visitor that appeared this morning. She shook her head as Asa snapped at Sky to focus on their arm wrestle.

"So, Erik, I heard you went rollerblade skating with Zephyr," Anne abruptly changed the subject.

"Huh, is that why you look pretty beaten up?" Luka said.

"Yeah, I kind of slipped and fell," Erik chuckled.

"Dude, you can't even stand on a skateboard when it's still, what made you think you could skate on rollerblades?" Sky said as he slammed Asa's hand to the table, causing the younger to curse at him.

"Zephyr insisted," Erik said "She wanted to do more things together."

"Including reading, studying and watching horror films?" Luka said "Please, you need to compromise on these kinds of things. Thalia and I have a difference of opinion on all sorts of things so we always have to meet in the middle."

"Chiharu and I just click, our arguments are fairly short and we rarely make a big deal over things," Asa said "Though sometimes she thinks my magic tricks are getting a bit repetitive."

"Lucinda and I tend to like the same things," Sky said "The only thing she dislikes about is my apparent unhealthy love for sport. I don't have an unhealthy love for sport!"

"Yeah, you do," the three boys chorused.

Sky huffed as Anne prodded the table before searching for her hot chocolate. She sipped it daintily and smiled wistfully. It was nice to listen to the boys. But she couldn't shake off this shiver, this chill down her spine. It was distracting her from enjoying the company of her friends. She recalled Tifa's words about her choice in friends and hummed, sipping her hot chocolate a bit more. Sky's girlfriend sounds nice, Asa's girlfriend sounds shy and quiet like her, Erik's girlfriend sounds intimidating and Luka's girlfriend sounded very forward and down to earth.

"Before you go into another heated argument," she raised her voice to silence Sky briefly "Um, I was wondering if I could meet any of your girlfriends?"

"Sure, it would have to be a different time than this though," Sky said "Lucinda normally stays at home to look after her younger brothers."

"Zephyr is at law school so it will have to be one of our date times that she puts aside for us," Erik said.

"Chiharu is allergic to dogs so Timber can't meet her," Asa said and Timber whined.

"I'm sure Thalia can come round tomorrow," Luka said "She's free a lot of the time, she prefers pursuing her dream of being a professional dancer."

"A bit of a fruitless endeavour," Sky commented dryly "Although dancing is a more feminine sport."

"Just because you're not graceful enough to be a decent dancer," Luka sneered "Your figure is a bit beefy to be a dancer though."

"And your physique is perfect?" Sky asked.

"It needs to be, I have to dance and sing in musicals."

"Well you wouldn't have to do any of that in Loveless," Erik said.

"Ha, if they made Loveless into a musical I would not fall asleep!" Asa laughed.

"Please, Loveless is a classic piece of drama! If I get the part then I am the luckiest guy alive!"

"Please, Loveless is boring, capital B," Asa sighed.

"Oh, Anne, I should tell you!" Sky said "Your sister managed to get me some work experience under your friend!"

"Zack is Tifa's friend, I haven't actually met him," Anne smiled sheepishly "He's always busy and works late like she does."

"I'm feeling quite nervous about this," Sky confessed "But it's mainly office work."

"I heard that Zack is very friendly," Anne said "Maybe he might let you do some field work."

"Though I hardly think you will be able to go near a gun," Luka sighed in disappointment "But maybe you might get a taser, they're fun!"

"How would you know?" Erik asked.

"Eh, Thalia has an electric fetish apparently."

"What's a fetish?" Anne asked innocently.

"Um, well…" the boys stuttered.

Suddenly Timber nudged his nose against Anne's leg and she blinked, forgetting her question.

"I need to get home," she announced.

"I'll walk you over," Asa offered as a sigh of relief passed the boys.

"Alright, see you later," Luka said as Anne got up and Asa held her hand whilst walking her out of the café.

"How is my love for sport unhealthy?" Anne heard Sky ask.

"Dude, you have an entire schedule…"

Anne giggled lightly and smiled to herself as she stepped out of the café with Asa.

* * *

Asa linked arms with Anne as they made their way down the street. He heard the door open and turned to see if any of the other guys were coming to catch up but saw a tall man with long silver hair instead. Shrugging, he turned away, not thinking too much about it.

"Asa, can we stop by the supermarket?" Anne asked "I need to get carrots and strawberries for Tifa."

"Sure thing," Asa smiled "Is that all?"

"Um…no, she needs rocket salad leaves too."

Asa grinned as they stopped outside the supermarket and he left her standing by the entrance with Timber as she gave him the money to buy the groceries. He hummed whilst going down the aisles, halted at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Oh, careful," came a girlish giggle.

"Can't help it," murmured a husky voice as Asa peered down the refrigerated aisle.

"Thalia…?" he whispered in disbelief.

At that moment, he wanted to throw up. There was Luka's girlfriend, perched atop the ice-cream freezers, arms around another man's shoulders and legs around his waist. What made Asa feel sicker was that this guy was probably twice Luka's age. He closed his eyes and shook his head before taking another good look. Yep, definitely Thalia, Luka's girlfriend, letting an older man do what he wanted with her. No signs of struggle so it wasn't rape, she clearly was enjoying it and oh Gaia, she's giving the guy a hickey, ugh. Asa snapped a quick photo to tell Luka before backing off and grabbing the groceries Anne wanted.

"Hey, mate, you alright?" the cashier asked as he paid him.

Asa swallowed as he took the shopping bag.

"Why don't you check the aisle with the refrigerated goods?" he murmured before heading out.

Only to be greeted with another sickening sight. Asa's eyes widened when he saw the man from earlier leaning over Anne, his fingers hovering over her face and Timber snarling, only to be hushed by Anne. There was a dark look in the man's eyes and the moment he saw Asa come out, he stepped away and walked off as if nothing had happened.

"Anne, are you alright?" Asa asked as he came next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist to warn off the guy who gave them a look over his shoulder.

"Yes, why?" Anne asked, clearly oblivious to the fact the man had been standing right in front of her.

"No reason, come on let's get you home," Asa murmured as he began leading her to her home.

Timber nosed the shopping bag curiously as Asa's mind went wild with different thoughts. He had just caught Thalia cheating on Luka, in public no less! Asa did not recognize the man and he thumbed his phone nervously. How was Luka going to take it? Was he going to believe him? Asa hissed and shook his head. He should at least hear it from a close friend instead of coming into a random shop and see her spreading her legs for a random man.

"Asa, you feel tense," Anne said "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, fine…" Asa said "Um, Anne, if there's anything worrying you at all, you will tell your sister or any of us right?"

"Yeah, sure," Anne nodded.

Asa's mind drifted again to that man who had been right in front of her, ogling her. He was in that café every day like them in the same booth. Didn't he work for  _Rhapsodonian Fabrics_? What was he doing standing over Anne, fawning over her like a lost little puppy? Asa squeezed Anne lightly as they turned the corner to Anne's block of apartments.

"Could you help me up the lift, Asa?" Anne asked.

"Sure," Asa nodded and narrowed his eyes as he saw the same man going into the hotel opposite them.

He helped Anne into the lift and pressed the floor button. Timber stuck his nose into the shopping bag but Asa pulled it out of his reach, making him whine.

"I don't think you'd like anything in here, Tim," Asa warned and Timber whined again, widening his eyes "Hey, Anne I've been meaning to ask, what breed is Timber?"

"Tifa told me that he's a Newfoundland," Anne answered.

Asa hummed thoughtfully as the lift reached the floor they wanted and they walked out, finding Anne's apartment. His stomach growled hungrily when he smelt the scent of noodles.

"Tifa, I'm home!" Anne called as Timber led her in.

"Did you get the groceries I asked for?" Tifa called from the kitchen as Asa followed her in.

"Rocket leaves, strawberries and carrots," Asa smiled.

"Oh," Tifa turned and saw Asa "Hello, who's this?"

"Asa, miss," Asa smiled and blatantly avoided staring at her rack "I'm one of the four musketeers that is under oath to protect the Queen."

Tifa laughed as Anne sat down on the sofa, blinking in confusion.

"Ah-ha, the funny one!" she grinned as she took the shopping bag off Asa "So, Erik's the smart one, Sky's the sporty one, you're the funny one, so who's the last one?"

"Luka? Aw, we consider him as the flirty one," Asa grinned.

"Oh, better keep an eye on him then," Tifa said as she put the groceries away "Does he have a girlfriend?"

"Uh…well…" Asa drifted off.

Tifa glanced at him and frowned.

"Is everything alright?" she asked.

Asa glanced at the pocket where he kept his phone.

"They are going through a rough patch, so we'll have to wait and see how that works out," he replied "Um, I should go, I need to do something…"

"Sure," Tifa smiled "It was nice meeting you."

"Bye, Asa!" Anne called as Asa walked out.

Asa entered the lift then took out his phone to examine the photo of Thalia and that other man. He wrinkled his nose but upon closer inspection, he clarified that it indeed was Thalia. He sucked in a breath as the lift reached the ground floor, dialling Luka's number.

_"Hello?"_

"Luka, are you still at the café?"

_"Yeah, I'm about to head out and meet Thalia."_

"Actually, mate, I have something important to talk to you about in private."

_"Um, OK, meet in the park?"_

"Sure."

Asa took a deep breath to calm himself before jogging over to the park. He saw the young actor on the park bench and swallowed nervously whilst approaching him.

"Hey, buddy," he said as he sat next to Luka.

"Buddy?" Luka raised an eyebrow and straightened up "What happened, did my rabbit die?"

"You have a rabbit?" Asa blinked.

"I was planning to get one," Luka shrugged "And no, if I do get a rabbit, you can't use him or her for any of your magic tricks."

"Ah, no," Asa shook his head and took a deep breath "No, I was meaning to ask, um…"

He sighed and placed a hand on Luka's shoulder.

"Luka, how is your relationship with Thalia going?" he asked.

"Alright, I mean we have our moments but it's going great," Luka shrugged.

"Luka, mate, I don't want to do this but I think it's best you found out from me than from some other source," Asa said calmly as he brought out his phone.

Luka blinked as Asa took his phone out and flipped to the picture.

"I was going to get groceries for Anne and I just saw them, I nearly threw up and I thought you should know…" Asa mumbled as Luka grabbed the phone to take a closer look.

"This can't be Thalia…" he murmured and scrunched his nose up, slamming the phone into Asa's chest "How could she?"

"Wait, so it is her? I was hoping my eyesight was bad," Asa said as he took his phone back.

"I don't want to believe it," Luka murmured darkly "I can't believe it, in public no less!"

"Luka!"

Asa and Luka looked up sharply and couldn't hold back a brief glare of contempt at the young woman running towards them. Thalia smiled widely at them and Asa confirmed that it was her he saw in the supermarket, she was wearing the same clothes as the girl in the picture. Luka greeted her with the dirtiest and angriest look the magician had ever seen and Thalia frowned.

"Aw, what's the matter, grumpy-pants?" she grinned "Did your agent say that you didn't get the part in Heartless?"

"Loveless," Luka corrected and held out his hand for Asa to put his phone in "Thalia, we're in a relationship, right?"

"Well, yeah," Thalia giggled.

"We're…faithful to one another as a result, right?" Luka said as he stood up to tower over her.

"Yeah."

"Do you have a twin sister?" Luka asked whilst unlocking Asa's phone and bringing the picture up.

"No, just a younger sister who's studying journalism at the university."

"Does she look like this young lady getting shagged by what looks like a university professor?" Luka asked darkly as he showed the picture to her.

Thalia's eyes widened at the picture and suddenly she gave a venomous look at him.

"You've been spying on me!" she accused.

"No! Asa went to get some groceries and found you!"

"Well don't you have a bunch of nosy friends!"

"You were letting a man, a man who's probably old enough to be your dad, fuck you in public! Who is he, anyway?! How long has this been going on?!"

"What about you and that little blind girl you're always talking about?!"

"Anne is fifteen, she's underage and I would never do that to her!"

"Oh, look at Mr Sensitive with his underage girlfriend!"

Asa sat awkwardly, eyes trained on the ground as they continued arguing. He lifted his head when Luka gave Thalia a sharp slap.

"You…slapped me…" she whispered.

"Because I have no respect for little whores like you!" Luka snarled.

"I just want to sleep with straight men once in a while!"

"I am straight!" Luka roared and grabbed her by her shirt and shoved her off her feet and pinned her up on a tree "You never listen to me! You were the first person I opened up to since I was raped!"

Asa's eyes widened. That was news.

"Maybe I should do it to you, you ungrateful little slag," he snarled and Asa got onto his feet "Tear you open, humiliate you, leave you here for more old men to have their way with you!"

"Luka, stop," Asa said as he grabbed Luka's arm "She's not worth it, you might catch something from her and you'll get into trouble."

Luka gave another glare at Thalia before digging his nails into her top, ripping it off. She let out a screech before he dropped her and Asa looked away when he realised she wasn't wearing a bra and jogged after Luka as he stalked off.

"Um, Luka, buddy, uh, phone please?" Asa said and yelped as Luka threw it at him and he managed to catch it.

Asa continued running after Luka before grabbing his shirt to pull him back.

"Luka, chill, please," he panted as Luka stopped "Phew, you walk fast when you're angry."

"She never listened," Luka murmured "She only wanted me for sex."

"Luka, buddy," Asa wheezed as he leaned his head on Luka's back "Um, what was that about…?"

Luka turned and looked down at Asa with tears pricking his silver eyes.

"A year ago, I got drugged by one of my colleagues and he raped me with three other guys," he said bitterly "I only told Thalia about it and felt like I could only talk about it with her because…well, Anne shouldn't listen to things like that and I didn't want you guys to treat me like some kid because of it."

"What? Luka, we've been friends for nearly seven years!" Asa said as he stood up straight "And you could talk to that skank about it, whom you've only known for a year and a half?"

"She was my girlfriend, I thought she cared," Luka spat "She acted like she supported me, I was gullible to fall for it! I didn't realise the information didn't get through her thick skull."

He sighed and looked away.

"Look, Anne might feel squeamish about issues like rape," he said slowly, trying not to think about how it would have been like "But she listens."

Luka stared down at Asa silently who grinned.

"She's a good friend that way. She has coped her whole life being blind and understands people. She may be a bit naïve and young to discuss your issues, but she's growing up so fast! Heh, I sound like her big brother or father or something now. Look, true, we've only known her for about a year, but she can make you feel better. Come on, let's go and visit her!"

"What, now?" Luka blinked as Asa grabbed him by the wrist.

"Sure!" Asa grinned "Now come on!"

* * *

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes suspiciously when he saw Asa return to the block of apartments with Luka. What was going on? Why were they visiting her? Or maybe they were visiting a different person? No, it was too much of a coincidence. Sephiroth took another sip of his wine before moving away from the window to his desk where he continued sketching. He smiled whilst finishing off the sandals on Anne's body sketch then pulled away with a dreamy sigh.

"Soon, Anne, soon," he whispered to the sketch and glanced at the vial of chloroform he managed to snatch from Angeal's office "It'll just be the two of us, no-one else."

He grinned maliciously.

"No-one else, we need no-one else," he nodded "We can be so happy just the two of us. We don't need anyone, just each other. And we can achieve so much, you and I, my sweet angel. Just you wait and see."

He placed his pencil down and began platting his hair idly.

"My little princess, I'm sorry for making you wait. But you needn't wait any longer. Soon, it'll all be over soon…"

He smiled and leaned back, closing his eyes to indulge himself in another fantasy.

* * *

This time they were on a grassy hill, the sun was out, there was a pleasant breeze and Anne was in the most adorable pink gingham dress. He was adjusting the bow around her neck as they sat on a picnic blanket, enjoying the time they were spending together.

"There, Anne," he said as she smiled at him "Now you look perfect."

"Thank you, Sephiroth," she said and picked up her sandwich.

Sephiroth smiled as she leaned against his chest and closed her eyes.

"I can't wait to get the bionic eye treatment," she said "I'm still a bit nervous."

"Don't worry, I trust Angeal," Sephiroth said "He's the best doctor I know. You will be able to see and you won't have to live in darkness anymore."

Anne looked up at him, her eyes missing his face slightly. She reached out and cupped his cheek.

"I will be able to see you," she murmured and smiled "I can't wait."

Sephiroth held the hand that cupped his face and smiled down at her.

"I'll take you to see the whole world," he promised her "From Wutai to Mideel, anywhere you want to go I'll take you."

"As long as I'm with you, I will be happy," Anne said and got to her knees "because I love you so much, Sephiroth."

Sephiroth held her close to him, relishing in the softness of her warm, pale skin and the smoothness of her sleek, black hair. He would cradle her until sunset which would urge him further to give her the gift of sight she would be able to see such a magnificent sunset. Then afterwards, if the sky was clear enough, they could look at the stars when she could see. Sephiroth wanted to show her all the beautiful things in the world. But of course, Anne was the most beautiful thing that graced Gaia's green land.

* * *

Sephiroth smiled as he opened his eyes and flipped the page so he could sketch that wonderfully adorable gingham dress. With white lace around the skirt of the dress and the short puffy sleeves. And a beautiful thick magenta ribbon to tie around her neck, making a neat little bow. The perfect frock for a beautiful summer's day and ideal for any picnic. Also, Anne would have the cutest white stockings with sweet pastel pink Lolita shoes. Sephiroth would clip up her beautiful black hair with a dark red clip, shaped as a bow.

"So…beautiful…" he murmured as if in a trance "You're mine, Anne. Mine, mine, mine…yes…mine alone and forever…"

He stroked her face in a trance, biting his lip coyly. He then closed his eyes and remembered the contact they shared this morning. He could just imagine those delicate, soft hands running up and down his body, worshipping him. And those dull, almost colourless eyes, staring up blindly at him but filled with trust, filled with love. And one day she will be able to see his face, fall in love with him for giving her sight and be forever faithful to him.

"It'll just be the two of us," he murmured with a dreamy sigh "No Luka, no Asa, no Sky, no Erik…

Sephiroth let a grin spread across his face at the thought.

"With them out of the way, you can only focus on me," he said "I'll treat you like a princess, like an angel. Yes, my angel, my precious, precious angel…"

He wanted to spoil her with clothes, presents and anything else she wanted. If she wanted a new dog, he'll give her one. Preferably a small chihuahua instead of that massive, shaggy mongrel. Perhaps she might want a cat or a Moogle or a Chocobo, he would be fine with getting any of them. Just anything apart from a big shaggy mongrel that will shed hairs everywhere and bring in muddy pawprints. Sephiroth smiled as he switched to drawing another sketch of her with a spotted top, summer skirt and a handbag with a little chihuahua poking his head out. He leaned back and glared darkly outside at the block of apartments when he saw movement. He moved over and saw Asa and Tifa come out of the block, which clarified his suspicions. Luka and Anne were in her apartment alone. Not liking the idea of his precious Anne alone with another man, Sephiroth rose, grabbed his coat and made his way down after Asa walked away and Tifa got on her friend, Cloud's motorbike.

* * *

"Hey, Tifa, Anne?" Asa knocked on the Lockhart's apartment door.

Tifa answered the door, looking like she was in a rush.

"Asa! Hi!" she said "I'm sorry, I need to get to work!"

"Actually, Luka needs to talk to Anne about something in private," Asa nodded his head to the taller man.

"Luka the flirt, right?"

Tifa suddenly turned her gaze to Luka and glared at him warily.

"I don't trust you," she growled in a voice which sent shivers up both of their spines.

"Wh-wh-wh-what?" Luka stuttered as Asa stepped back warily.

"What's this conversation going to be about?" Tifa asked.

"Um…uh…" Luka was lost for words.

"He's having problems with his girlfriend and wanted to talk to someone as listening and caring as Anne about it," Asa supplied.

"I won't allow it!" Tifa hissed.

"Now, Tifa, you can trust Luka!" Asa said "He may be a flirt but he wouldn't do anything to Anne, I swear!"

"Tifa?" Anne called from the apartment "Who is it?"

"The funny one and the flirty one," Tifa called over her shoulder "I don't trust the flirty one to be alone with you."

"Luka?"

Luka saw Anne by Tifa's side, reaching out and grabbing her arm.

"I trust him, Tifa. Timber will be here to keep an eye on him."

"Well…I don't…"

Tifa groaned as she heard Cloud sound his horn and pointed at Luka.

"If you do anything to her, I will come and personally make sure you won't ever have children in your life and I'm only letting you in because she's your friend, don't betray her trust!"

Luka yelped as Tifa pulled him in, stepped out and closed the door then ran off to go with Cloud. Asa watched with wide eyes.

"Scary…"

He strolled after her and managed to catch the lift in time with her. He observed Tifa looking panicked as she ruffled through her bag and sighing softly.

"Late, late, late…" she muttered as she verified she had everything she needed.

"So Anne says you work at Seventh Heaven?" Asa said as they waited for the lift to arrive at the ground floor.

"Yes, it can be interesting at times," Tifa said as she zipped her bag up "Sometimes the owner himself comes down to personally drag the particularly drunk patrons out."

"Mmm, interesting indeed," Asa grinned.

"Still not my number one choice for a job but I take what I get," Tifa shrugged "I can't afford to be picky…"

"Tifa, how long are you planning to support Anne exactly?"

Tifa stared at him briefly before running out as soon as the lift reached the ground floor. Asa walked out after her and sighed softly.

"She's worried about you too, you know," he said as Tifa hopped onto the motorbike with the man that had spiky blonde hair.

She waved him goodbye briefly as they sped off down the road.

* * *

Anne found her way back to her place on the sofa and invited Luka to sit next to her. She felt the sofa dip slightly and Luka's soft sigh.

"Huh, suddenly I'm the one with relationship advice even though I've never had a boyfriend," Anne giggled.

"You're just full of common sense is all," Luka chuckled as Timber lay his head in Anne's lap.

"So, tell me what's wrong between you and Thalia," Anne smiled as she ran her fingers through Timber's fur "Did you forget about her birthday or get her the wrong brand of perfume for her?"

"Actually, it's what she did," Luka sighed "You see…earlier this evening Asa, well…"

Anne heard him swallow harshly. She shifted closer to him and reached out, finding his arm and squeezing it. Luka took another deep breath and chuckled.

"Wow, it's still kind of hard to swallow," he said "I guess all that earlier was from my anger…"

"Luka, what happened?" she asked feeling worried "Was it something really serious?"

Luka took another deep breath and held her hand that gripped his arm.

"Asa found her…cheating on me with an older man," he said bitterly and Anne felt her stomach churn.

"Cheating?"

Why would anyone want to cheat on Luka? Luka was a good boyfriend, wasn't he? Sure he liked the occasional flirt but it never meant anything. Luka was always so thoughtful, a bit of a laugh and sometimes a bit irritable but still a good friend in Anne's eyes. Any girl would be lucky to have him as more as a friend. Anne felt her eyes watering as she sympathised with how Luka would have felt when he found out. She shifted so that she was in his lap and hugged him tightly.

"Anne?"

"I'm so sorry that happened to you," she said softly "I can't imagine how you would have felt but it still must have been horrible all the same. It's OK now. You don't need to think about her now. Just calm down."

She felt Luka's arms around her back, tightening softly into a hug. She took a deep sniff from his hair and sighed softly. Cinnamon from the cinnamon latte, the Lynx deodorant and slight salty scent of his sweat from the warm day, this was Luka's scent. And Anne felt oddly intoxicated. Her nose bumped into Luka's cheek and she felt his breath tickle her face. Her heartbeat sped up, her pulse raced, her cheeks burned as she felt Luka take hold of her face…before taking hold of her hips and shifting her off his lap. She blinked in confusion as she caught her breath as she heard Luka let out another sigh.

"No, I can't," she heard him whisper.

Anne licked her dry lips and bowed her head.

"You can't…what?" she asked slowly.

"You're too young."

"I'm fifteen."

"Anne, you never ever want to be on the rebound for someone," Luka told her firmly and ruffled her hair "Besides, you're still just a child."

"No, I'm not," Anne shook her head.

"Also your sister threatened to castrate me if I ever did anything to you," Luka chuckled.

Anne clenched her fists in her lap and sighed shortly through her nose.

"Luka, can you really be sure that she…actually cheated on you?" she asked "Maybe Asa got the wrong girl?"

"No, he took a picture and I recognized her," Luka replied "Then she came later wearing the same clothes that she had on in the picture so you know, too much of a coincidence don't you think?"

"Well, maybe it's for the best," Anne shrugged "You did seem to fight a lot considering the way you talked about her in the café. How did you get together, if I can ask?"

"No, Anne, I can't tell you, I'm not…no, I just can't."

"Luka," Anne reached out and pulled on his sleeve.

"I can't, not with you. I wouldn't ever bring those kinds of things up with you around."

"Luka, please, tell me what's wrong."

"Anne, please drop it, it's very upsetting and I don't want to push it onto you."

"Please, Luka, I'm your friend, I want to be able to comfort and support you."

"It will upset you a lot, Anne, and it brings back painful memories."

"But…oh…I see…"

Anne felt a little downtrodden but if it was painful for Luka then she wouldn't pry. There was a pause and Anne felt Luka's strong arms around her, hugging her tightly.

"Can we just be like this for a while?" Luka murmured into her ear.

Anne nodded and hugged him back, burying her nose into his body to breathe in his scent. She decided she liked the way Luka hugged her. His arms were snug around her smaller body, her head was comfortably tucked into his chest, Anne didn't want this to end. Her cheeks went a bit warm and she smiled to herself.

"Luka, I'm always here for you if you need a shoulder to cry on," she said.

"Thanks," Luka said as he combed his fingers through her hair.

The sofa creaked suddenly and Luka let out an annoyed grunt, making her giggle slightly.

"Timber!"

Timber whined as Luka spluttered.

"Alright, alright, I'll give you a cuddle too."

Anne felt Timber's paws over her legs and one of Luka's arms left her body. She heard Timber's tail thumping on the sofa as she guessed he was getting stroked and doted on.

* * *

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes slightly as he leaned against the door, listening intently to the conversation they were having. Luka had a conscious it seemed. Sephiroth felt his lips curl upwards into a sneer. So what if he wasn't comfortable with being intimate with her? He still didn't like the fact that they were together and alone in the apartment. But on the surface, it looked like Luka wasn't going to try anything. Sephiroth relaxed his shoulders slightly as he stared out at the grim view of the city.

"Ugh, Timber stinks," Luka commented from inside.

"Have you tried giving him a bath?" Anne giggled and Sephiroth smiled at her delightful laugh.

"I don't want to know," Luka said.

"Oh, it's so funny! I'm sitting out here listening to an audiobook version of Vincent Valentine's  _A Phoenix's Tail…_ "

"You really love his novels don't you?"

"Well, of course, he's a brilliant writer and I love horror. But anyway, back to the story of bathing Timber! Suddenly and out of the blue, Tifa's scream is louder than Vincent's monotone voice and I pull my earphones out and hear barking so loud that it made the neighbours upstairs come down to investigate what was going on! I don't know what happened but the next thing I know, a very wet Timber is on top of me!"

Luka laughed as Sephiroth chuckled lightly.

"Wow, Timber, you just keep running into trouble," Luka commented and Sephiroth heard a faint bark.

"I still love him," Anne said "He's been my eyes and my guardian for three years, haven't you? Oh yes you have, oh yes you have, you big, lovable lump!"

Sephiroth sneered again.

"One day…" he murmured softly to himself mostly then looked up at the balcony above the one he was on "It'll be over soon, soon enough…"

He smiled and closed his eyes picturing the both of them together as they bathed Anne's new dog together. It would be incredibly fun to see his beautiful maiden covered in soap suds and her clothes soaked through because their dog would probably not stay still whilst it was getting cleaned. She would wear plain old clothes when washing it. Perhaps an old gingham white top with some jean dungarees, effectively making her look like a proper country girl. It would be an adorable scene. Then afterwards they would change and let the dog dry by the warmth of the fire in the fireplace. Maybe Anne would get changed into a more elegant yet simple dress. Perhaps a plain, deep red dress made from velvet with some purple leggings underneath. Sephiroth smiled wider. The perfect scene of the two of them on the sofa, maybe sharing a book then sharing a soft, sweet kiss together, it encouraged him further to hurry and take her away from this place. Sephiroth couldn't wait for that moment, he simply couldn't.

* * *

Angeal wrote down a few medical reports as he sipped his coffee.

"Being a doctor is too tiring," he muttered for probably the hundredth time that day.

Seriously, why did there have to be a stupid terrorist attack at nine o'clock in the morning, by the art gallery, causing twenty eight different casualties, thirty deaths and essentially clogging up the A and E section for two and a half hours? Angeal's muscles ached so much and it was now ten o'clock in the evening and Angeal wanted nothing more than to go back home and snuggle Genesis whilst listening to his rants about Sephiroth's deadlines. Angeal glanced at the phone as it lit up and began vibrating.

"Speak of the devil," he chuckled as he picked it up and answered it "Hello?"

"Angeal," Genesis whined from the other side "Come to bed, I miss you!"

"Give me an hour or so, I still have work," Angeal grimaced.

"But, but, Angeal! I've had to work hard today too! Please, come back home so I can be able to cuddle and feel your glorious stubble!"

Angeal chuckled as he rubbed his fingertips down his so-called glorious stubble.

"Don't worry, I can scribble down more reports and talk to you," he said as he continued writing.

"OK, so Scarlet had another diva fit with what kind of bras she wanted to model then the new work experience girl spilt coffee over my new slacks! And then after that I had to push Sephiroth to give me more of the fantasy collection because, come on, short skirts with polka dots? Ew! And then he hung up on me! How rude!"

"That sounds just like him," Angeal smiled wistfully "Actually he visited me today."

"So that's where he was! You're not cheating on me, are you, Angeal? Is that why you're not coming home?!"

"Relax, Gen, I can't wait to get all this done and finished so I can come back and snuggle you with my oh so glorious stubble."

Angeal chuckled at Genesis's dreamy sigh.

"Your stubble is such a turn-on," he said "Wait, so what did he come to visit you for?"

"Oh, you know we're all good friends and we hadn't seen each other for a while," Angeal shrugged "Wasn't too much of a visit because of all those people coming in from the attack this morning."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that, pretty nasty…" Genesis sighed.

"Well, I'm going to be finishing off this report and then I'll jump into the car and make my way home."

"Yay, I love you so much, Angeal!" Genesis cheered and began making kissing noises "Hurry up!"

"I love you too, Gen. Bye."

"Bye, Angeal! Mwah, mwah, mwah!"

Angeal waited until Genesis hung up and hung up with a sigh.

"Oh, Gen," he muttered as he continued writing.

He never noticed the missing vial of chloroform on his shelf behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

“I’m happy that you got a call back, Luka,” Anne smiled at Luka’s direction on Thursday evening.

“Yeah, I’m actually really relieved,” Luka sighed as they arrived at her apartment “But really nervous.”

“Why, when is it?” Anne tilted her head curiously with a smile.

“In a couple of hours,” Luka chuckled and Anne gasped, attempting to slap him on the arm but missing and hitting his side.

“Then don’t walk me home when you should be getting ready!” she hissed “Go, go, go!”

“Haha, just like your sister!” Luka laughed and began walking off.

“Luka, wait!”

“Yes, Anne?” was Luka’s reply and Anne heard the footsteps stop.

She jogged over, Timber following closely and hugged him tightly, if not at an awkward angle.  She breathed in his familiar, comforting scent of cinnamon and sighing.  She had decided long ago that hugging Luka was nice.  His arms around her felt so perfect, so right, so comforting, she always wanted to have them around her.  It was like they were two pieces of a puzzle and they just fit together so easily as if made for one another.  Yes, he was eighteen, yes, she was fifteen, but she didn’t care.  All that she ever cared about was being in his arms and feeling safe within them.  Why would Thalia ever think about cheating on such a perfect young man?  Luka was perfect, so perfect.  Anne pressed her ear to listen to his heartbeat and smiled at how soothing and how relaxing it sounded.  She wasn’t one to enjoy romantic comedies or books, unless they had a good murder mystery within them.  But with Luka, she could feel all the clichés that typically appeared in such genres.  For example, even if he may be a jerk, she would want him or if he went and found someone else to replace Thalia she would still pine for him.  Wait, was she really turning all soppy, angst and romantic?  All those thoughts went out of the window when she felt Luka hug her back and nearly purred like a very happy kitty.

“Break a leg,” she said as he placed a hand over the back of her head “And no matter what happens, we’re all here for you.”

She felt Luka’s sigh pass the top of her head and wrap his other arm around her shoulders.  She felt his lips touch her head as he buried his nose into her hair and sighed happily.  There may be a brotherly approach to his affections but Anne didn’t mind.  She was beginning to crave this intimacy very much and felt like she couldn’t get enough of it.  Yes, she got hugs from Sky, Asa and Erik but Luka’s were the best.  Luka’s arms were just right for her.  Sky’s were too muscly, Erik’s were too skinny and Asa’s felt awkward and funny around her.

“Thanks, Anne, you’re a good friend,” he said let her go “I’ve got to go now, see you tomorrow?”

“Uh, yes,” Anne nodded with a smile “Sure.”

She listened to his footsteps as Timber barked after the young actor.  She heard the elevator doors slid open then close and felt her face fall at the soft pang of hurt in her chest.

“Well…I am under the legal age,” she muttered as she walked back to her apartment door “It’s alright.”

She let out a startled gasp as Timber barked sharply and head-butted her over to the right door.  She sighed and took out her apartment key and unlocked it.  She stepped in, not realising her crestfallen look that she wore.

“Oh, hello,” a very unfamiliar and masculine voice cut through her thoughts “You must be Anne.”

“Who’s there?!” Anne shrieked and Timber snarled, barking and running forward.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Tifa!”

There was a loud crash with Timber’s threatening growls as Anne stood rooted to the spot, trembling in anxiety and fear.

“Timber, no!” Tifa’s voice came within Anne’s earshot.

“Tifa, there’s a strange man in the apartment!” she cried.

“Ssh, ssh,” Tifa soothed and Anne felt her sister’s familiar hands on her arms “It’s alright, it’s just Cloud.  He’s here for dinner and staying a while, we’re having our night off.”

Anne pressed her hand to her rapidly beating heart and sighed.

“That scared me so much,” she whispered and leaned her head on Tifa’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry, dear, it was a bit last minute,” Tifa sighed.

“Hey,” Anne flinched as Cloud’s voice sounded closer than before “Sorry.  I’m Cloud, nice to meet you.”

Anne felt that she was shaking quite a bit as she nodded.

“H-Hi,” she whispered and Cloud chuckled “T-Tifa, I’m going to bed early, I’m pretty tired.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised after what just happened,” Tifa giggled and Anne felt the soothingly cool lips on her forehead “Take a nice nap, I’ll save you some dinner, OK?”

Anne nodded as she took a step forward then jumped back when she heard a yelp.

“So sorry!” she squeaked as Tifa laughed whilst Cloud muttered his pain under his breath.

“Here, let me help you to our room,” Tifa said as she helped Anne navigate around Cloud and into their bedroom.

Anne was sat down on the bed and Tifa helped her out of her cardigan.

“Oh no!”

“What?!” Anne exclaimed and Tifa sighed.

“One of your ribbons has been pulled off of this cardigan,” Tifa huffed “Did Timber pounce on you again to make sure you didn’t get hit by a bicycle today?”

“Um, no,” Anne blinked blindly.

“Did you accidentally walk into a bush?”

“No.”

“Did you get mugged?!”

“No!” Anne stared blindly at her sister’s direction “No, it must have gotten caught on something and got ripped off.”

“Oh, you need to be more careful, Anne,” Tifa said as she took Anne’s cardigan off “This is such a lovely design, from _Rhapsodonian Fabrics_ too!”

“Wait, since when could we afford clothes from _Rhapsodonian Fabrics_?” Anne frowned “I thought they were an expensive brand.”

“They…are…” Tifa said guiltily “But once in a while for a treat I buy something that is on sale for you so I got it at a reasonably low price.”

“And yourself?” Anne raised her eyebrows “Tifa, you need to buy yourself some things too!”

“I do but it’s funny,” Tifa laughed as she ruffled Anne’s hair “I look at some clothes from _Rhapsodonian Fabrics_ and think that they have just been designed and made especially for you!  I could never pull such fancy and stylish clothes off…”

“Tifa, I’m not sure what to say other than that is the most ridiculous idea ever,” Anne laughed “Clothes especially designed for me in a shop?  Those clothes are for anyone that can afford them so they are designed for everyone, right?”

She then sighed softly and hunched her shoulders.

“You see, it’s not like I could ever see them so maybe you shouldn’t bother,” she murmured.

“Now, Annabelle Lockhart,” Tifa said sternly “That may be true but just because you can’t see other people, it doesn’t mean that other people can’t see you either.  And when you go out to buy audio books, take Timber for a walk and meet your friends, I want everyone to see how beautiful and lovely you are.”

Anne felt her cheeks warm up at her sister’s words and giggled.

“I don’t know what beautiful or lovely mean,” she shrugged “But thank you.  I’ll take it as a compliment.”

She felt the bed dip as Tifa sat next to her and hug her tightly.

“I love you, Anne,” she said “And no matter what happens, I’ll always be here to back you up and to support you.”

Anne smiled as she buried her nose into Tifa’s bosom, smelling her familiar scent of chilies. 

“Thank you, Tifa,” she said “I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble but I’m grateful.”

“Anne, it’s not your fault that you were born blind,” Tifa assured her “And it’s not your fault either that our parents had to go the way they did.”

Anne smiled softly and yawned tiredly.

“Alright you, nap time.”

The bed bounced at Tifa giggled as Timber nuzzled Anne.  Anne cuddled him back as she lay down, using his body as a pillow, running her hand through his fur as she closed her eyes and began to take her nap.

* * *

 

Sephiroth ran his fingers along the little red ribbon that had dropped off Anne’s cardigan.  It made him happy that she was wearing one of the designs he had envisioned on her.  Black cashmere for the cool summer evenings, decorated with red ribbons, it looked perfectly adorable and cute on her.  Sephiroth sighed as he sipped his glass of wine and continued drawing multiple copies of his obsession, each wearing a formal dress and their hair done up in different styles.  Oh, such beautiful, sleek looking hair.  Sephiroth yearned to run his fingers through those soft, silky tresses of ebony.  And when they were together, he would be able to wash such beauty, style it and make her look even more beautiful than before.  She will be so happy to know the extent of his love and perhaps, when she is given sight, she will mimic the behaviour and wash his hair.  A shudder ripped through the man’s body at the pleasurable thought.  Those tiny, tiny fingers woven into his silver hair, her breath tickling the skin of his neck, the softness of her moist skin as he steadies her whilst she reaches for his scalp to rub in the shampoo.  Their lips would meet and she would embrace him tightly as they shared their passion…  Sephiroth suddenly snapped out of his daze with a snarl, slamming his fist into the arm of the chair. 

“Patience,” he hissed and sighed as he took in a deep breath “Patience…”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes tight as he hunched over.

“Not much longer now,” he whispered “I just need to…”

Sephiroth set his glass of wine down and picked up his phone, dialling a number and holding it up to his ear.

“Hello?”

“My darling little sister,” Sephiroth drawled and there was an irritated sigh.

“My obnoxious big brother.”

“Sephirotha, you should be proud to have such a successful brother,” Sephiroth purred as he picked up his glass of wine to sip it.

“One of the models from _Rhapsodonian Fabrics_ came up to me one time on the street to complain about your designs then fuss about my uniform.”

“It’s your own fault that you wear your breast binder all the time,” Sephiroth sighed.

“Have you ever had boobs?  They’re annoying and nobody takes a policewoman seriously.”

Sephiroth smiled and leaned back, his predatory gaze fixated on the single apartment window on the building opposite him.

“So, little sister,” he purred “I propose that we play our little game.”

“Oh please, we’re adults now and it causes hassle on my part.”

“But Rotha, my beautiful, darling sister…”

“Flattery gets you nowhere and you know it.”

“I’ll have Genesis make you some custom design summer clothes,” Sephiroth announced as he lifted his glass to stare at its red contents “Country style.  You know those midriff tops and shorts that you love so much?  I’ll design three of each, maybe add some boots too.”

“Boots are for autumn.”

Sephiroth rolled his eyes and lolled his head back.

“Then how about flat sandals?”

“Not my style.”

“Heels?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Woman, you know I specialise in clothes and not shoes so tell me what you want.”

“Then how about you design me some trainers?”

“Trainers, really?” Sephiroth lifted his head at the same time as his eyebrow.

“Yes, why not?”

“You have tons of trainers, you do not need more.”

“I need plenty for the gym and my daily run.”

“How about I design one pair of boots, a pair of platforms and a pair of ballet shoes to wear indoors?”

“Deal, alright, when do you want to play?”

“Tomorrow.”

“What?!  Tomorrow is like the worst time ever!”

“Midriff tops and shorts, Rotha, midriff tops and shorts.”

Sephiroth smirked in delight as his sister sighed in defeat.

“Fine, we’ll play tomorrow.  Don’t you ever grow up?”

“Says the little girl who’s probably just staring at the playground outside her apartment, pouting and complaining about her mean big brother.”

“Oh, shut up.”

“I love you too, little sister.  Goodnight.”

“Yeah, goodnight, you big jerk.”

Sephiroth hung up and sighed in content, sipping his glass again.  He ran a finger along the rim thoughtfully, his heart racing at the clock on the bedside table ticked away the seconds towards the time when his arms would be securely around his angel.  He lowered his glass and looked at the ribbon again, stroking it like it was a little new-born kitten.  Soon, he’ll be stroking his princess’s black, silky looking hair.  He’ll be caressing her creamy, soft skin and she’ll be able to feel his hands, examine what he looked like and become enamoured.  By the time she was sixteen, they would share their first kiss.  By the time she was eighteen, they would be married.  By the time she was twenty, they would start their family.  Sephiroth smiled and looked down at where he could just see his angel napping on the bed.

“What will we call our children?” he whispered softly to himself.

Anne read a lot of books, she could come up with many names.  Maybe name their son Vincent, after her favourite author?  Maybe name their daughter after her?  Sephiroth chuckled and shook his head.

“Let’s not think about that just yet,” he purred whilst kissing the red satin in his hand dotingly “After all, that’s very far into the future.”

His mind drifted as he glanced at his sketchpad that was full of drawings of her.  Did Anne have a particular career she wanted to follow?  It’s not like she needed to work anyway but Sephiroth was still curious.  She was still young, curious and perhaps a smidge ambitious.  Even after knowing her for so long, this little enigma was still a mystery to him. 

“You have me under your spell, you little enchantress,” he smirked “I hope you’re prepared for the consequences.”

With an ominous chuckle, he refilled his wine glass and continued watching the innocent little girl have her nap.

* * *

 

Anne yawned as Timber helped her navigate her way through to the kitchen in her sleepy state where she sat down and felt around for her breakfast.  She frowned as she picked up no scent of bacon or sausages, no sensation of metal utensils but could hear the sloppy eating from Timber as he ate his breakfast that apparently was already out and ready for him.

“Tifa, where are you?” she called.

“Oh sorry, it’s on its way!”

Anne tensed at the voice.  She stumbled back and nearly tripped over, feeling afraid and nervous at the presence of a stranger in her apartment.

“Who’s there?!” she called out as Timber growled.

“Whoa, it’s alright, it’s me, Cloud.”

Anne focused on Cloud’s voice and slowly recognised it, sighing with relief.

“What are you doing here, did you stay the night?” she whispered.

“Um, Tifa took the day shift today and she wanted me to get to know you.”

Anne blinked as she heard the familiar clink of the bowl being set down on the table in front of her.  She reached out, found the spoon and began eating the cereal.

“She does talk a lot about you,” she commented “You, Officer Fair and your sick friend, Aerith.”

“Ah, she told you about Aerith, huh?”

“Sorry, I forgot, you hold her very dear, don’t you?”

“What?”

“Tifa told me you really like her.”

“Well, yes, she’s my dear friend since childhood.”

Anne smiled as she finished her cereal and heard Cloud take the bowl away.

“So what’s first?”

“Well…”

Anne felt her cheeks heat up.

“Tifa normally helps me get dressed.”

“Ah, yes, she left your clothes on a chair in your room, I’ll just lead you to it.”

Anne flinched when she felt hands help her up and direct her into the bedroom.  She felt his hand over hers, directing it until she felt clothes.

“You can get dressed by yourself?”

“I think so,” Anne nodded as she felt the dress, the underwear and the tights “These clothes are very familiar to me.”

“Good, I really don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable in case your sister follows through with her promise to castrate me.”

Anne laughed as she heard Cloud’s footsteps lead away from her.

“I’ll wait outside and we can go walking with Timber.”

“Sure.”

Anne smiled as she felt the bra in her hands and began dressing for the day.  As she dressed awkwardly, she began to feel worried.  Being around a stranger without Tifa or the boys?  It terrified her, even if Tifa certified him as safe.  Imagine her fear when she got mugged last year and was suddenly introduced to Sky, Luka, Asa and Erik.  But they were nice, their scents smelt reassuring, Timber liked them and they treated her to her favourite drink of a caramel latte.  In a sense, they were her own troupe of musketeers with swords, uniforms and those weird moustaches that people kept talking about and Anne had trouble envisioning on a man.  Hair on the face?  It sounded ridiculous, humans sounded ridiculous, this world she couldn’t see but only feel, smell, hear and taste…it was ridiculous.  And yet intriguing, Anne felt isolated, excluded for not being able to take part in the wondrous activity of seeing.  What did Tifa look like?  What did Luka look like?  What did Timber look like?  Heck, what did she look like?  What were colours like?  What did zombie children look like?  What did books look like?  Anne’s head began spinning with all the things she would want to see if she ever got sight.  What did the apartment look like?  What did caramel lattes look like?  What did universities look like?  What was red?  What was blue?  What was white?  What was light?  What was a smile?  Why is gravity claiming her at this second? 

“Are you OK?!”

Anne noticed that she was lying on the carpeted floor as the questions disappeared into the unconscious of her mind from whence they came.

“Slipped and fell,” she said as she sat up “I’m fine, thank you.”

Anne heard a sigh of relief.

“I got really worried, please tell me if you need any help, alright?”

“Of course, I’m sorry to have worried you,” Anne smiled as she stood up.

She heard the door close and shook her head.

“Come on, Anne,” she scolded herself as she slipped her nightgown off “Now’s not the time to ask such silly questions.”

She huffed as she let her nightgown fall and fiddled around with her bra, struggling to strapping it around her chest and adjusting it so her breasts were fully supported.  Tifa always lectured her about keeping her breasts nice and supported, she wasn’t entirely sure why.

“What is blue?” she murmured “What is white?  What is gold?  And what is light?  What is wrong and what is right?  Why is there day and why is there night?  Good poem, right there…  Timber, remember that!”

Timber whined and Anne giggled, shaking her head and finding her knickers.

“I’m just joking, boy, I’ll remember to record it,” she said and fumbled around, finding the dress Tifa left out for her.

The dress felt nice and soft, it was a bit fiddly with the zip at the side and tying the ribbon around the dress.  She pulled the tights up on her legs and wandered out of the bedroom shyly.

“Cloud?” she called out.

“Yeah, I’m right here,” Cloud said and Anne heard the approaching footsteps.

“Um, did Tifa leave any shoes?”

“Yeah, she did, I’ll help you put them on.”

“Thanks,” Anne said as she made her way over to the sofa and sat down.

She flinched as she felt hands grab her feet and help slip on the buckle shoes which she had trouble putting on.

“Tifa buys you some really cute clothes, do you share?” Cloud asked curiously.

“Well, she says so but I wouldn’t know,” Anne shrugged.

“Ah, right, yeah.”

Anne wiggled her toes in her shoes when Cloud finished putting them on her.

“So, where would you fancy going for lunch?” he asked and Anne heard him clap his hands together.

“Café Kisargi?” she timidly suggested “It’s the only other place where Timber can go and they make nice sandwiches.”

“Café Kisargi it is then.”

Anne gasped as a hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her up to her feet.

“You’re in safe hands, Anne,” Cloud reassured her.

“Um, OK…” Anne nodded uncertainly as she let Cloud lead her out of the apartment with Timber following close behind.

* * *

 

“Hey, welcome to the force!” Zack cheered and slapped Tifa’s sister’s friend Sky on the back in a friendly manner.

Sky coughed at the force of the slap and grinned to bear the pain.

“Yeah, good to be here,” he said as he mimicked the action, eyes widening when Zack stumbled onto his knees.

“Sweet puppies, you’re strong!” the officer grinned up at him after recovering “You know, with the right training, you could be a brilliant policeman!”

“Ah, I just want to have some experience is all,” Sky shrugged guiltily as a couple of looks are directed towards them and helped him up “Too many scary stories of my grandfather have always directed me from this kind of career, especially his gruesome death…”

“Don’t worry, we won’t hand you a gun and send you out to find any drug gangs,” Zack reassured him.

Sky swallowed anxiously but cracked a smile nonetheless.

“Anyway, I’ll show you around!”

Sky trailed after him, looking around curiously as haggard drunks from last night were released and other police officers coming in with coffee and paperwork.  He jumped when he saw a familiar shade of silver hair, tied back and under a police cap.  Wait, wasn’t that man a fashion designer?

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Sky turned to Zack then glanced at the silver haired police officer.

“Who is he?” he asked as Zack followed his gaze and grinned knowingly.

“He is a she,” he chuckled and Sky stared at Zack in disbelief “I know!  She wears a breast binder so no-one prematurely judges her when she’s patrolling.  Gaia bless, Officer Rotha, she is a gem.  You want to meet her?”

“Um, yes, OK…” Sky frowned.

“Oi, Rotha, come and meet the work experience kid I was talking about!”

Sky raised an eyebrow as Rotha scurried out of her office and outside with someone who looked like her partner.  Zack chuckled and nudged Sky.

“Adorable, isn’t she?” he winked and Sky turned to him.

“I swear I’ve seen her drawing designs for _Rhapsodonian Fabrics_ ,” Sky said uncertainly and Zack laughed.

“That’s her twin brother,” he said with the wave of his finger “People often get them confused because of their very disturbing resemblance to one another.”

“Oh right, I see,” Sky said with a nod.

“Don’t take her sudden take off personally though, she is very shy around new people,” Zack whispered with a cheeky grin “Or maybe she thinks you’re cute, she is especially shy around people she finds cute.”

“Ah, sorry to tell her that I already have a girlfriend,” Sky grinned.

“Ah-ha, I knew it!” Zack said as they reached a desk which had his name on it “I knew a handsome devil like you couldn’t be single!”

“What about you, you got a girlfriend?” Sky shrugged shyly and tensed at Zack’s crestfallen face.

“Well…” he drifted off “There’s this girl I like but considering the circumstances, it might not be…”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,” Sky said as he hunched his shoulders.

“Oh no, no,” Zack waved him off “It is a perfectly innocent question.”

Sky suddenly felt guilty and shrugged.  Zack sighed wistfully, tapping his pen on his desk.

“What got you into police work?” Sky asked curiously.

“Oh, I just have a strong sense of justice!” Zack smiled “I have a dream to become a hero!”

“Seriously?” Sky raised an eyebrow.

Zack nodded eagerly and Sky snorted.

“That’s what my grandfather wanted,” he sighed “Well, still, you know what they say…”

“Dreams are wishes that your heart makes so as long as you follow your heart you’ll fulfil that dream?” Zack said with a light bounce in his seat.

“No, that unattainable dreams are the best kind.”

“Oi, I’m your superior now, so respect me!” Zack demanded.

“It was a compliment?” Sky raised his eyebrows at said superior and Zack seemed to accept it with a smile.

“Anyway, let me get you started with some paperwork!”

Zack brought up a chair where Sky sat and watched him sort out the papers.

* * *

 

Anne laughed after Cloud’s story when she heard Timber bark and run off to chase after the ball which Cloud had thrown she assumed.

“How long did he have to be in hospital for?” she asked.

“Three months,” Cloud sighed.

“Oh my!”

“Poor guy,” the delivery boy sighed as Anne fiddled with her fingers “Needed six stitches and never stops giving me the evil eye when I go to collect my deliveries for the day.”

Anne smiled and looked at the direction of Cloud’s voice.

“You have so many interesting stories, don’t you ever get bored of them?”

“Well, you’re the only one who listens and I can see that you are really interested,” Cloud chuckled.

“Luka, Sky, Asa and Erik always interrupt one another and I never hear one whole story for them,” Anne explained as she shrugged “Now because it’s only you, with no-one other than Timber making you pause, but you still keep on telling your story.”

“Heh, I should tell you about this one time that Zack set his hair on fire once.”

Anne laughed at the idea.

“Oh my gosh, really?!” she exclaimed and Cloud laughed with her.

“He leaned in too close to his partner who was smoking and he has a particular strand of hair hanging in front of his face which is gelled that way.  Well, apparently that gel is highly flammable and I supposed you can guess what happened when the cinders from his partner’s cigarette…”

“Oh no!” Anne exclaimed but laughed as Cloud sighed.

“Yep, took months for it to all grow back,” he said.

Anne smiled and covered her face in her hands, her laughs slowly fading away.

“Thank you for taking us out here, it was fun to ride on your bike when we came here,” she said.

“I think Timber had a lot of fun chasing us too,” Cloud chuckled “I’m surprised he still has so much energy left.”

“He’s basically an overgrown puppy,” Anne giggled.

“Yeah, he reminds me of one of my friends, Tifa’s told you about Officer Fair, right?”

Anne laughed with him as she recalled the many stories of Zack the Puppy that Tifa had told her.

“You’re not a bad person,” she said “I was very afraid to spend time around you but if Tifa trusts you, I should trust you too.”

“You thought I was a bad person before?” Cloud asked and Anne flinched inwardly at his hurt tone.

“Ah, well, I…I’m scared of strangers…”

“Hey, hey, I’m just kidding, no need to look so guilty.”

Anne smiled bashfully as Cloud petted her hair.

“You know, Tifa and I used to go to the same school before your parents, well…”

“Oh, really?” Anne raised her eyebrows.

“Yeah, we barely recognised each other when she applied for a job at Seventh Heaven,” Cloud sighed “You know, we didn’t really talk to one another but I remember having a huge child crush on her.”

“That is so sweet,” Anne smiled and giggled “Cloud and Tifa sitting in a tree!”

“Now, aren’t you a bit old to be singing that song?” Cloud said and Anne just laughed.

Her smile faded after a while and she hunched her shoulders.

“You know, I wouldn’t mind it if you were my brother-in-law now that I know you,” she said.

“Whoa, where did that come from?” Cloud exclaimed.

“She really likes you too, you know,” Anne giggled “She always talks about you, compliments about how spiky your hair is…”

“My hair is not that spiky.”

Anne lifted her hand and ran it through his hair, tugging at the triangular shaped locks of hair and smiled.

“They feel spiky to me.”

“Well, that is just your opinion, now stop touching my hair.”

Anne giggled as Cloud guided her hand away and brushed some hair out of her face.

“Your hair is nothing like I’ve ever felt before,” she said.

“And I will take that as a compliment,” Cloud chuckled and Anne sighed, shrugging “Hey, Timber’s not coming back, does he normally do this?”

“No, he always comes back,” Anne frowned “Timber!  Here, boy!  Timber?!”

She wringed her wrists uncertainly and Cloud placed a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s alright, I will look for him,” he said “And if he’s alright, he’ll come straight back here, right?”

“Right,” Anne nodded and felt Cloud’s clothes brush against her as he stood and walked off.

Anne smiled as she hummed to herself, still feeling nervous and vulnerable.  Ever since the mugging incident, Anne had always felt insecure.  But that happened during the late evening when she was late to go home and in the middle of an abandoned street.  But she was in public, she was safe.  Yes, it was the middle of the public park and yes, no-one’s going to do anything to her, right?  …Right?  Anne gasped as she felt a wet cloth over her nose and mouth, a sweet scent filling her nose as she raised her hands to grab the hand that held it.  An arm went around her shoulders as she tried to struggle as she felt her consciousness slipping away.

“I have you, my angel,” were the last words she heard that day.

* * *

 

“Timber, here boy,” Cloud called as he looked around the park “I swear he went in this direction.”

He came across the bushes where he found the ball he had thrown for the large black dog.  He then discovered the dog lying in the grass and a very sweet scent in the air which made him back away warily.  A bird fell from the tree above them and he covered his nose and mouth, staring at the shards of glass near Timber.  He backed away far enough to not inhale whatever it was that had knocked out Timber and looked back, spotting a hooded figure run away from the bench he had sat down at…wait, where was Anne?!

“Anne!” the blonde exclaimed as he took off towards him.

He could barely keep up with the figure, shouting profanities and curses as onlookers stood in stunned silence, not wishing to intervene or merely not caring.  By the time he caught up, the captor has Anne in the backseat of his car and drove off down the road, nearly hitting Cloud.  Cloud cursed as he hopped onto his bike and chased after the car.

* * *

 

“Ah!” Asa sighed as he stretched his arms out “A kid bit me today.”

“Aw, did you make her teddy bear disappear?” Sky laughed.

“No, he just ran up and sunk his tiny little teeth into my leg,” Asa grumbled “I had only just finished the appearing dove trick.  Apparently he didn’t like birds.”

“Aw, Asa, sorry for that,” Erik hissed in sympathy “I remember my little cousins always teamed up on me whenever I had to babysit them.  Not only did they always egg my hair and put ants down my shirt, they began shooting spitballs at me and somehow got me in both my eyes.”

“You wear glasses,” Sky frowned.

“Exactly.”

There was a collective hiss of sympathy for Erik.

“So how was the first day of work experience?” Luka asked Sky as they walked down the street towards the café.

“Interesting,” Sky shrugged “The paperwork is interesting, yeah but a bit tedious.  But Zack was around to keep me entertained with his cases and how he came around to being a policeman.  Apparently one time, his hair got caught alight.”

“Dude!” Asa widened his eyes in alarm “How did that happen?!”

“His partner was having a smoke, he leaned in, got too close and his hair gel was pretty flammable apparently.”

A collective, sympathetic gasp went around the group.

“Ouch,” Luka shivered.

“How was your call back?” Erik asked Luka.

“If I do not get the part, I will grow wings and fly up to the cloud palace where my parents live in,” Luka smirked.

“It went well, huh?” Asa chuckled “Oh no, this means we have to sit through Loveless?”

“Hey, it’ll be great,” Erik argued “And hey, maybe we can get a ticket for the show so she can go to the theatre for the first time.”

“Yeah, she wouldn’t be able to see anything but hear the actors,” Sky shrugged.

“She might fall asleep,” Asa cackled and winced as Luka slapped him up the head.

“Hey, speaking of which, how’s the fundraising going?” Erik frowned and the group paused.

“So far I put aside three hundred,” Sky shrugged.

“Twenty,” Asa sighed softly.

“I was hoping to put aside some money if I got the part and started earning,” Luka huffed “What about you, Erik?”

“Five hundred from the money I’ve gathered from working at my dad’s restaurant,” Erik folded his arms “That’s a total of eight hundred and twenty Gil.  That makes seven million, nine hundred and ninety nine thousand, one hundred and eighty Gil left to go.”

“Sweet Gaia, how did you calculate that so fast?” Asa frowned.

“Eh, I’m good at Maths,” Erik smiled.

“You swot, no wonder you got bullied so much,” Sky sighed.

“Why didn’t you get bullied for not being smart enough to finish school?” Erik countered.

“I did finish school, just not with the best grades,” Sky huffed with a shrug.

“Anne!”

The boys turned their heads and saw a car blaze past.  Sky and Luka widened their eyes as they saw an unconscious Anne in the backseat of it.

“Anne!” Luka yelled as he and the athlete took off down the street after the car alongside the motorbike that followed after it.

“Anne?” Asa and Erik frowned as they watched them take off down the street.

Erik looked at the park opposite the street.

“That’s where she normally walks Timber,” he said “We should go and look for him.”

“Um, sure,” Asa nodded, still a little stunned as they crossed the street and began scouring the park.

“Timber!” Erik called “Timber!”

“Will he respond to our voices?” Asa asked anxiously.

“I don’t know, excuse me, miss,” Erik said as he intercepted a woman who walked by “Have you seen a massive black Newfoundland anywhere?”

“You mean that massive black dog that’s sleeping in the sun over there?” the woman pointed over to the unconscious dog by the trees.

“Timber!” Asa ran down towards him but fell over then remained limp next to the big dog.

“Asa!” Erik followed after him but stopped after smelling the sweet scent in the air and staggered back “Um…OK…”

He bit his lip as he looked around before covering his mouth and nose with his shirt to drag Asa and then Timber away from the scene.

* * *

 

Cloud narrowed his eyes as he chased down the car, making a note of the licence plate as he revved his engine and rode faster, avoiding collisions and pedestrians on the road.  The car turned into the storage units area and Cloud froze as he slowed down whilst turning in.  He looked at the many storage units that were aligned in rows and huffed in frustration.  He blinked as two young men ran past him and slowed down, panting for breath as they looked up and down the rows of garages.

“Great, now what?” the one with black hair grumbled as he fell to one knee, panting for breath.

The one with blue hair turned to Cloud.  He took in another breath and sighed.

“Luka, you stay here and make sure he doesn’t get out,” he instructed “I’ll check through the storage units and find him.  I don’t know about this guy.”

Cloud narrowed his eyes as the blue haired man ran down one row and the one called Luka looked up at him.

“You were chasing him too,” he panted “Ah, um, why?”

“That girl is my friend’s sister, who are you?” Cloud frowned.

“That girl, her name is Anne,” an angry glint went through Luka’s silver eyes “is my friend.”

“Hmph,” Cloud began to slowly look up and down the rows of storage units.

He looked up and down desperately, his heart pounding as he turned around one corner and found an open door.  He parked his bike and ran to it, discovering the car but no-one in it.  He cursed as he ran up back to the entrance where Luka was still stood in the middle.

“No-one’s come through, right?” he asked and the younger man shook his head “Good, he’s left his car, taken Anne, this is the only entrance to this area…”

Luka turned his head sharply when the blue haired man came into view.

“Did you find him?” he asked as he panted and looked between the two.

“No,” Cloud and Luka shook their heads.

They jumped when police sirens were sounded and a police car came rushing towards them.  All three of them jumped apart and the car sped through and onto the street.

“What’s a police car doing in the storage unit?” Luka frowned softly.

“I think that was Officer Rotha in the front seat?” Sky tilted his head “I think Zack mentioned that she has a lot of stuff stored in her unit here so she hangs out here to sort it out.”

“Anyway, someone must have called the police but she’s going in the wrong direction, he’s here!”

“Maybe she got a different case, but still, we need to keep looking!” Cloud snapped.

“Sky, take watch, I’ll help blonde spikes here with the searching,” Luka nodded to the blue haired man.

“The name’s Cloud,” Cloud narrowed his eyes as they split once more to scour the area.

* * *

 

Sephiroth sighed as he approached his home and set his police cap down whilst turning off the engine.  He leaned back and adjusted the rear-view mirror to look at his beloved angel that slept on blissfully, covered in her blanket and summer hat that concealed her face to anybody that would glance into the car.  He smiled happily.  She must have been so frightened when he had to take her away but it was alright.  He was here to comfort her and reassure her that nothing will ever harm her.

“We’re home, Anne,” he said as he got out of the car “I’m sorry I had to place you in that awful body bag but it was only for the time that we had in the police car.”

He opened the door and took the hat off to gaze at her face, brushing her hair back with a happy smile.

“It was clever, wasn’t it?” he whispered as he unbuckled her seatbelt and picked her up carefully “The perks of having your twin sister work in the police force.”

He chuckled as he kissed her head dotingly and carried her towards the door, fumbling with his keys to unlock it.

“We used to get up to all kinds of trouble when we were younger, much like you and your sister,” he whispered as he carried her into his living room and towards the door directly opposite the front door “Because we were so similar, we could switch and mimic each other’s behaviour just to confuse our parents and friends.  And the best part?  Rotha loves hiding her breasts so I can just put on a police uniform, walk in and nobody would notice the difference.”

He opened the door to reveal a very white looking bedroom, looking rather…well, let’s just say it was the perfect room for a bride about to get married.  Translucent white sheets hung over the lavish bed as the evening sun cast the shadows of the swaying leaves over the room, giving it a slight orange hue.  Sephiroth pulled the curtains aside and lay Anne down on the bed, cupping her cheek with a soft sigh.

“Now it’s just us,” he whispered “You, me and no-one else.  No Timber, no Sky, no Asa, no Erik and certainly no Luka.  Aren’t you happy, my sweet?”

He blinked as his phone began ringing and answered it.

“Hello?” he greeted the person on the other side, holding Anne’s hand in his.

“Sephiroth, I think I just witnessed a kidnapping!” Rotha hissed on the other side “Some guy nabbed this girl and took off with her in his car!”

“Well why didn’t you chase after him, you carry your badge on you at all times…”

“Well first of all, that would have blown my cover and I would have lost our game,” Rotha huffed “And second of all, I tried but I got caught in the crowd and by the time I reached police headquarters, they had three witnesses being interviewed and apparently I had already signed off for the weekend so I was free to go.  But I suppose it’s alright, Zack is taking on the case and he’s the best guy for kidnappings.”

“Indeed?” Sephiroth raised an eyebrow “And where was this kidnapping?”

“It happened right outside the café when I was having my afternoon coffee, I just saw this hooded bloke strap this teen girl into the back of his car, jump into the driver’s seat and take off.  She looked no younger than what?  Fourteen?  Thirteen?  I don’t know, it just happened so fast and like I said, I lost track of him quickly.  Oh, the poor girl, I can’t believe the other people who were passing by just stood there and gawped!”

“That must have been so frustrating for you, Rotha, I’m so sorry for asking to have our game today…”

“Oh, no, it was actually fun, Genesis hasn’t changed one bit, it was nice to see him,” Rotha laughed “He complained something about your style in your latest collection of hats, or whatever, I didn’t know much of what he said, mainly gibberish about what was in and shoved a magazine in my fact.  Oh well, never mind.  Hey, maybe Zack would let me help out with this case.  All I’ve been dealing with for this past month are drug addicts and dealers, it gets so boring.”

“It is the season of festivals and parties,” Sephiroth chuckled.

“I suppose,” Rotha sighed “Anyway, I’ll come round soon to pick up my clothes, OK?”

“I’ll let you know when they’re ready.”

“Sweet, catch ya later!”

Sephiroth smiled as he hung up.

“We are very different, aren’t we?” he smiled down at Anne before shifting and leaning over to peck her nose “Now, we need to get you changed.”

He carefully sat her up and began running the zip down her dress.  His fingers trailed down the smooth, pale skin of her back and he sighed, hugging her tightly to his chest.

“This is perfect,” he whispered as he unclasped the red bra “So wonderfully perfect.  No-one can ever find us here in our own haven.  Are you happy, my angel?”

He kissed the back of her neck after parting her hair away then ran his fingers through the long, dark tresses.  He smiled as he smelt the scent of apples in her hair.  He had bought several bottles of the shampoo and conditioner brands that she used, he could only guess by smelling her hair.  He slipped her dress and bra off, gazing down at her developing breasts and smiled.

“So adorable,” he murmured, running a finger around one then dragging it down to her tummy, circling her belly button curiously.

He shifted down so he could graze his lips around the soft skin, sighing before kissing his way up her body then kissing her nose, her sweet, tiny, delicate nose.  His body began to feel warm and aroused as he embraced her naked form and sighed into her hair.

“We’re finally together,” he whispered.

* * *

 

“Thank you, Tifa!” the men chirruped around the table Tifa had just served.

“You’re welcome!” Tifa smiled “Hey, Kunsel, how’s the shoulder?”

“Healing, Zack can’t wait for me to get back on the police force,” the man with the sling smiled “The doctors gave me a few weeks off work and you know, it’s nice to kick back and relax.”

“I’ll say, but it must have been so scary to be trapped like that,” Tifa clutched the tray to her chest with wide eyes.

“Heh, the worst thing was that I couldn’t see a thing!” Kunsel sighed “Seriously, tied down, restricted, no comforting light for me to be able to see what was going on, urgh.”

He shuddered and Tifa smiled sympathetically, rubbing his good shoulder.

“Well you were very brave and I’m very happy that you made it out alive,” she said.

“Phone call for you, Tifa.”

“Oh, OK!” Tifa called over her shoulder “Sorry, would you excuse me?”

She strode over to the bar and picked the phone up there.

“This is Tifa speaking, how can I help?” she smiled tiredly yet brightly.

“Tifa, it’s Zack.”

“Oh hey, Zack!” Tifa sighed and leaned against the bar “I was just talking to Kunsel earlier.  What’s up?”

“Hey, listen, um…”

Tifa blinked as she folded her arms, her face becoming sombre.

“Zack, you sound serious for once, what’s up?”

“There’s been an incident with your sister.”

Tifa’s face fell as she stood up straight.

“What?!  Is she OK?!”

“We don’t know, you see…ah…”

There was a pause as Tifa felt her whole body shaking.

“Cloud really tried his best to find her and so did Sky and Luka, they thought they had him cornered but somehow he got away with her…”

“Who, Zack, who?!” Tifa yelled down the phone “What happened?!”

“Here, give, hey, Tifa,” Cloud’s voice came across “It just happened so fast…”

“Cloud Strife, you tell me this second what happened!” Tifa bellowed, causing customers and staff to stare at her.

Tears began falling from her eyes as Cloud sighed.

“Anne got kidnapped.”

Tifa could only hear her heartbeat as she stared ahead blankly.

“Who did it?” she demanded “Who took away my baby sister?!”

“Tifa, I’m going to come round to pick you up, I’ll explain it all to you, I promise, so please just calm down until I get there, OK?”

“Cloud, wait!”

The line was cut and Tifa mutely handed the phone back before sliding down and covering her head.

“Is everything OK?” her boss asked nervously.

Tifa just sat there, collecting her thoughts and taking deep breaths.

 

* * *

 

“Luka?”

Luka looked up at Sky blankly as his friend approached him with a sombre look.

“We can go, they’ve finished questioning us and we need to meet up with Asa and Erik.  They need to know what happened.”

Luka stared at Sky mutely and Sky sighed, shaking his head.

“She’ll be OK,” he said as he helped the actor get back onto his feet “Come on, it’s getting dark.  The police will find who that car was registered to and we will find her in no time.  So please, just relax.”

Luka remained silent as they walked out onto the streets, heads hung as they made their way to the café where they normally spent their evenings. 

“Um, with me on work experience, Zack said I could help out in finding her,” Sky said with a shrug “So I’ll keep all of you updated.”

“Hn,” Luka shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“Look, I know, it’s a bit of a shock to me as well,” Sky placed a hand on the actor’s shoulder “We never expected him to, well you know, somehow find another way out.”

“Sky, you’re really not helping so please, do me a favour and shut up.”

Sky pulled away with a hurt yet understanding look.  They found Erik inside at their usual booth at the café, talking to someone on his phone.

“Oh, hey, did you find her?” Cissnei came out of the kitchen with an expectant look.

Their solemn gazes gave her an answer and she bowed her head.

“Um, Asa and Timber are just resting with Erik over there,” she said whilst pointing to their booth “I’ll make some coffee on the house.”

“Thanks,” they muttered as they moved to their respectful seats.

They glanced at the empty space between Asa and Erik and sighed. 

“Look, I’m sorry I can’t make it tonight, there’s no need to get all moody about it.  I’m sorry, Zeph, but at this point, I’m beginning to understand why you don’t have friends for very long if all you ever care about is yourself.  Look, I’ll make it up to you, right now, I just need to take some time to take this all in, bye.”

Erik hung up and placed his phone down on the table.

“I was supposed to take Zephyr for a date tonight and she’s angry I cancelled,” he said whilst picking up his hot chocolate.

“What’s up with Asa and Timber?” Sky asked with a frown.

“Chloroform, I could smell it,” Erik replied “I want to say that our kidnapper planned this because without Timber, Anne’s vulnerable.”

“True, so he knew her routine, knew her weaknesses, I’m willing to bet that it was the guy from _Rhapsodonian Fabrics_ who’s always here and always follows her when she leaves here,” Luka sneered.

“So you noticed it too!” Erik and Sky exclaimed whilst pointing to Luka.

“Sorry to rain on your parade,” Cissnei sighed as she brought coffee to Sky and Luka “But he was here when it happened.”

“You’re kidding,” Sky’s face fell.

“No, he was taking a break with drawing when I asked him about why he didn’t have his sketchpad with him,” Cissnei sighed “He even got a good view of the kidnapping because he was facing the window this time.”

“Damn it,” Luka snarled and punched the table.

“But if he had access to chloroform, it would narrow down our suspects,” Erik snapped his fingers.

“True and don’t forget that car, Luka,” Sky said as he reached over to calm Luka’s rage “We’ll find her in no time, I promise.  In the meantime, just calm down.”

“What if he’s killed her already?!” Luka roared “Or, or, or raped her or got her out of the country or…”

His phone cut him off and he answered it.

“Now isn’t a good time!”

Erik and Cissnei shifted away from Luka as he glared into space whilst talking to the person on his phone.  He calmed down quickly after a while though, mouth agape and eyes becoming unfocused.

“I…see…” he murmured “No, I’m sorry, today’s just been…shit…”

He sighed and hunched his back, nodding.

“No, I am happy, really happy it’s just…something happened and I just feel…yeah, thanks for your concern.”

He sighed, sitting back and looked up at the ceiling.

“Yeah, I’ll be there, you can count on it.  Thanks.”

He lowered his phone.

“Luka?” Sky called uncertainly.

“I…I got the part,” Luka murmured “I’m in Loveless.”

“Oh, that’s great!” Cissnei exclaimed “I’m so happy for you, Luka!”

“Brilliant!” Erik smiled and shoved Asa “Oi, will you wake up already?!”

Asa just fell on top of Sky who arched an eyebrow.

“That was some strong chloroform then,” he chuckled and they all looked at Luka, their faces falling as they caught him staring at the space where Anne would have normally occupied.

Silence fell over them as life around them continued to go on.  Without Anne, it felt like their life had just been whisked away, leaving empty husks.

 

* * *

 

“There we are,” Sephiroth smiled as he finished brushing Anne’s hair “Perfect.”

He kissed the side of her head before carefully lying her down and tucking her into the bed.  She now wore a loose, silk nightgown which wouldn’t make her too warm as she slept.  Sephiroth sighed softly as he looked out of the window where he could see the full moon shining through.

“Isn’t it pretty?” he whispered and caressed Anne’s cheek “One day, you will be able to see how beautiful the moon is.  Not as beautiful as you, of course.”

He pecked her brow, smiling as she twitched underneath him then stood, walking over to the window.  He gazed up at the beautiful moon in the sky wistfully then drew the curtains and smiled over to his angel who turned in her sleep and yawned.  The effects of the chloroform were fading and she was still sleepy.  He walked over to her bed and shifted the sheets up more, kissing her head dotingly.

“Sleep well, my angel,” he whispered as he nuzzled the side of her face “Tomorrow will be the start of our new life together.”

He stood and walked out, glancing again at the sleeping beauty before closing and locking the door.  He grinned manically and leaned his forehead against the cool wooden door, chuckling softly to himself.

“My angel,” he whispered darkly as he traced the white surface “Mine, all mine and no-one else’s.  My precious, darling, sweet little angel…”

 

* * *

 

Anne didn’t know if she was dreaming or if this was real.  But one thing she knew for sure was the laugh she heard from the darkness of her world scared her.  It was chilling to the bone, so unfamiliar and it made her blood curdle.  There was no warmth in this world and all she could do was pray to all the deities she knew and hope for her safety and sanity.


	5. Chapter 5

The moment Anne realised she wasn’t sleeping anymore, she knew something wasn’t right.  Her clothes, these weren’t her clothes.  What was this fabric?  It felt smooth and…strange.  And why did it feel so short?  Anne didn’t sleep in nightclothes like this.  And this bed, this wasn’t her bed.  Where was Timber?  Why wasn’t she hugging Timber?  Why couldn’t she smell Tifa’s deodorant?  Where was she?  Anne forced herself to sit up and focus her senses on her surroundings.  She couldn’t hear the traffic of the city but the sounds of birds, she couldn’t smell the familiar, comforting scents of the apartment but the scary smells of…vanilla? 

Anne reached out, feeling for the edge of the mattress and brushed the sheets back from her body.  She set her feet down on the fluffy carpet and stood up shakily, falling back on the bed when she felt dizzy.  Shaking her head, she got up again and stepped forward, hands out in front of her to help navigate her way around objects if necessary.  She took slow, steady steps forward, her arms trembling as she anticipated stubbing her toes on any objects or knocking her knees on edges of slightly larger objects.  Her hands found smooth wood and after further inspection she found that it was a door.

Gripping the cold handle, she tried to open it but it didn’t move, indicating that it was locked.  She tried twisting it clockwise then anticlockwise but it still wouldn’t move.  Her heart began beating loudly as she tried pulling and pushing in vain only to hear the sounds of a locked door and no movement.  She began panicking.  The unfamiliar smells didn’t help to calm her nerves as she tried to open the door a little more violently.  This is bad, very bad.  Anne raised a shaky fist after trying and failing again in different ways to open the door, knocking feebly.

“H-Hello?” she called “Hello?  Is there anybody there?”

There was a click and she stepped back shakily to avoid getting hit by the door.  She was met with the smell of porridge and the sound of a soft baritone chuckle.  It sounded sinister to Anne’s ears and she backed away again, her body trembling as she felt her legs grow weak.  Who was this person?  Was he the reason she was here?  What did he want with her?  Was Tifa nearby?  Oh Gaia, please let Tifa be somewhere close!  She wouldn’t leave her all alone, would she?  Anne swallowed softly as she looked ahead blindly, wondering what sort of person stood before her.

“Good morning, Anne.”

Anne froze on the spot, terror striking her as she recognized the voice.  She trembled violently as a hand cupped her cheek, a thumb running up and down her cheekbone.  It felt cold, it felt frightening but at the same time it felt so gentle.  As if it was treating her like a china doll.  It was relatively big as well, Anne felt the fingers arch slightly as fingertips gently grazed underneath her eye, most likely brushing away eyelashes or remnants of sleep.  She thought she could feel affection in them, the touch reminded her of the way Luka would cradle her head when he hugged her.

“You’re beautiful,” the voice spoke “Come, let’s sit you down.”

Anne pulled away from the man as the hand left and tried to take her hand.

“Who are you?” she asked as she began heaving in a panic “Where am I?  Where’s Timber, where’s Tifa?!”

“Ssh, ssh, ssh…”

Anne whimpered when the hand found her cheek again and the thumb ran more circles around her skin.  She wanted him to stop, why wouldn’t he stop?  Stop touching her face like his hands belonged to it.  They were big, cold and frightening.  Didn’t he see it?  Couldn’t he feel it?  Was he trying to comfort her with these so called soothing touches?  It wasn’t working, stop touching her, he had no right to touch her.  But his fingers continued to explore her skin, gently massaging the top of her jaw then working their way across her cheeks to her synthesises.  It was as if he himself was blind and exploring her face.  But he wasn’t, was he?

“Come on, come on, there’s a table and chair here, come and eat your breakfast.”

Anne shook her head but reluctantly followed the person when they took her hand and led her to the aforementioned table and chair.  She was sat down on a soft cushioned surface as her hands were placed on a warm bowl and spoon.  She nearly slipped out of the chair when she shifted to be more comfortable, was the cushion made from a similar fabric to the nightgown she was wearing?  She ran a thumb across the handle of the spoon, feeling the strange markings that were etched into the metal.  Was this person rich?  Why would she be in a rich person’s home?  Where was Tifa?  Where was Timber?

“Eat, I made sure to put honey in your porridge, just the way you like it.”

Anne felt horrified as she withdrew her hands, swallowing back the bile at the back of her throat.

“How would you know that?” she asked in the direction of the voice “How can you possibly know that?!”

“Ssh, ssh, settle down,” the voice cooed and Anne struggled against the hands that held her tinier ones “Eat, eat, before it gets cold.  I’ll explain everything, I promise, but now is the time to eat.”

Anne felt her hands back on the bowl and spoon and this time, she took a spoonful and carefully brought it towards her lips to gently blow on it.  She smelt the sweet scent of honey and carefully tested the porridge, fully aware that this could be riddled with drugs or other dangerous substances.  She didn’t taste anything off but still didn’t rule out the option that there might be drugs that were tasteless laced in this sweet, sticky breakfast.  But she didn’t want any more conflict with this man so continued eating.

* * *

 

Sephiroth watched with a soft smile as his beloved angel ate the porridge in front of her.  Her hands were a little shaky as she spooned her breakfast into her mouth carefully.  His heart was racing, his beautiful seraph looked sublime in her nightgown and her hair was dishevelled from the tossing and turning that she had done all night.  Sephiroth’s eyes wandered to the one-way mirror that allowed him to watch her sleep from his room.  Everything was perfect, simply perfect, his Anne was now where she belonged.  He took the glass of milk off the tray and placed it by the bowl when Anne eventually finished off the porridge.

“Here, a drink,” he said as he guided her hand to the glass.

Anne’s fingers hesitated as she brought it up to her nose and took a whiff of the contents.  There was another moment’s hesitation before she pressed her lips to the glass and began drinking.  Sephiroth ran circles on the white wood of the table, watching her drink, simply captivated with the simple act as her lips rested on the glass.  He swallowed quietly, his lips growing dry as he wondered what it would be like to have those lips on his skin…  He snapped out of his reverie when Anne placed the glass down on the table and smiled as he saw some remnants of porridge at the side of her lip.  He reached out and wiped it away, making the young girl jump.

“Ssh, I won’t hurt you,” he soothed before licking the porridge off his thumb.

He smiled and gathered her hands in his, kissing the knuckles tenderly.

“I would never dream of hurting you,” he said softly as he pressed the small hands together in his much larger ones.

“Who are you?”

Sephiroth smiled as he continued holding her hands.

“My name is Sephiroth,” he replied whilst rubbing the back of her hands slowly “You will be staying with me from now on.”

“What do you mean?” Anne furrowed her brows “What about Tifa?  Timber?”

“Your sister is now free to do as she wishes,” Sephiroth replied “Isn’t that what you wanted?  Her to be free from you.”

“Are you…a family friend?” Anne asked slowly “How do you know us?  How could you possibly know about…?”

“I am just merely an admirer,” the older man said as he began running his hand up her arm “I have been watching over you for some time now.  I know a lot about you…”

“Watching me?” Anne choked as she tried to jerk herself out of his grip.

“Watching over you,” Sephiroth corrected gently as he pressed more kisses on her hands “I’ve been making sure you and your sister have been coping well.  I hope the money I sent was put to good use.”

“So it was you!” Anne said as she tried to pull away from him “But why?!”

Sephiroth sighed as he gazed down into those blind, dull, red eyes that were forever searching for something to see.  He pressed her left hand against his cheek and laced her right one with his, squeezing gently.

“I love you,” he said.

He felt a bout of giddiness swarm him but he kept his composure, watching as Anne successfully pulled her hand away from his face but struggled to free the other one.  She looked shocked, speechless, as if she wanted to say something but the words simply caught in her throat.  She opened and closed her mouth before shaking her head.

“No, I don’t know you…” she whispered.

“You will get to know me,” Sephiroth said as he leaned forward and pressed a sweet kiss on her forehead.

“How old are you?”

“Age doesn’t matter…”

“How old are you?” Anne asked in a firmer tone.

Sephiroth sighed softly and gripped her hand tighter.

“Anne, please, remain calm…”

“How old are you?!”

“Thirty years in September.”

Anne froze as her breathing began getting uneven.

“Twice my age…” she whispered “You’re twice my age, I’m underage, what do you want from me?!”

“Anne, Anne, calm, please, my angel…” Sephiroth soothed as Anne stood, stumbling when she failed to get her hand out of his.

“Let me go!  Let me go!  Tifa!  Timber!  LUKA!”

“Don’t mention his name!” Sephiroth suddenly snarled as he stood up fluidly, making the girl stumble.

He watched in realisation as Anne whimpered, cowering and trying to be as far from him as possible before cupping her cheek and soothing her.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he whispered whilst hugging her close “I’m sorry, I just lost my temper, it’s alright, it’s alright, I’m not angry, it’s alright, it’s fine, don’t worry, ssh…”

He pressed his lips firmly onto the top of her head before stroking her hair soothingly.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright, don’t cry…” he whispered as Anne began hiccupping, a sign that she was going to burst into tears soon “Ssh…ssh…”

He sat down on the bed after guiding her there, letting her fall to her knees and he cupped her face with both hands.

“I’m not one of those men that just kidnap underage girls for sex,” he whispered, pressing kisses along her crown “I’d never do that without your consent, never.”

Anne’s eyes blindly looked up at him as she trembled, whimpering and holding back her sobs and hiccups.  Sephiroth sighed as he tucked some hair behind her ear and smiled.

“You see, because I love you, I had to take you away from that life,” he said “Don’t you understand?  Here, no-one can get in between us and ruin our love.  We can be free together, no worries and no problems.  Everything I have ever done for you, it’s out of love, nothing less than that.”

He pressed a chaste kiss to her nose and sighed happily.

“Now, let’s get you dressed and ready for the day,” he said as he pressed his forehead onto hers “and then we can do whatever you want, what do you say?”

Anne was silent for a moment before she sniffed, took in a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh.

“I…want to be with Tifa.”

Sephiroth hesitated as he looked down at her and shook his head.

“I can’t do that,” he said “But I can help you navigate your new room.  I have audio books for you to listen to, we can listen to a movie…”

“Please, I want to go home,” Anne pleaded as she reached out to grab his shirt and he took her hands in his, kissing the fingertips.

“And for your birthday, I will give you a wonderful gift.”

“But that’s months away…!”

Sephiroth pulled her up so she was seated in his lap and held her gently, smiling.

“We’re going to be together forever,” he whispered as he ran a hand up and down her back “Anne, please accept my love.  I will treat you as the goddess you are.”

He reached up and cupped her face, placing her forehead on his and sighing.

“I love you so much,” he whispered.

He chuckled softly as he brushed back the hairs that strayed across her face.

“We will be so happy together.”

His angel didn’t move as he kissed her face, her sweet, heavenly face, several times, making sure to avoid those tantalising lips.  After all, their first kiss would have to wait for a special occasion.

* * *

 

Luka woke upside down with the blankets beneath his head and the pillows covering his feet.  He cringed as his body ached from the awkward angle and the less than pleasant sleep he had managed to get during the uncomfortable night.  His alarm for six o’clock rung on his bedside table and he lethargically crawled back up onto his bed to slam his hand on the off button.  After lying on his front for a few minutes, he slowly sat up and stretched himself out, his joints clicking as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.  He was supposed to start work today.  So the young actor got up, stumbled into the bathroom and began his daily routine.  He threw on a shirt and some jeans that he found in his wardrobe and wandered into the living room.

“My, don’t you look cheery,” his sister, Luna drawled as she spread the butter and jam on her toast.

“Shut up,” Luka growled as he flopped onto a chair and drank the coffee in front of him.

Luna slid his bacon and toast down the table towards him and pecked his head sweetly whilst passing to grab her handbag.

“You have fun at work today,” she said as she swerved to dodge his hand to bat her away.

“Hm?  You got that perfume advert gig then?” Luka murmured under his breath.

“Well, yeah but since what happened yesterday and you came home looking moodier than a storm cloud I didn’t bring it up,” Luna said as she grabbed her keys to their apartment “Want me to bring you a sample?”

“I smell fine just the way I am,” Luka murmured.

Luna giggled as she walked out.  Luka smiled softly as he began eating his breakfast, grabbing the remote control to flick on the TV.  Perhaps the news will help him focus for the day and not get distracted by…

“…are still looking for the young teen who was kidnapped yesterday afternoon.”

  1.   Luka flicked the channel.



“…is it now, boys and girls?”

Nu-uh.

“…Ninja Robots!”

No way.

“…and now the Behemoth has won the fight so he has the first pick of a mate.”

There we go, nature documentaries.  Luka stretched his arms out and continued watching, chewing and trying to stop thinking about the events of yesterday.  It was gnawing at him how the kidnapper just found it so easy to just pop Anne into the back seat of his car then just drive away like that.  How the hell did he manage to get her and himself out of the storage unit anyway?  It felt like it was so carefully orchestrated as if he had predicted that they would chase him up there and what annoyed Luka the most was that neither he nor anyone else really got a good look at his face, even eyewitness testimonies can be shaky if they did see the culprit’s face.  Surely Anne wasn’t too far away now, she was safe hopefully.  Because, who would want to rape, maim or kill a poor vulnerable, blind girl like her?

“Sometimes a jealous Behemoth may use force such as assault or abduction or even to go as far as to kill young offspring to get the mate he wishes.”

Luka flicked the TV off and threw the remote at the sofa.  Who cares about Behemoths anyway?  He should learn his lines.  He reached out for the script on the other chair then flicked through it before starting at the beginning.  Which role was he again?  He auditioned for the Hero…but ended up with the part of the Prisoner.  Eh, good enough, as long as he got money.  He read through the lines, keeping an eye on the time so he would be able to leave in time to arrive at the theatre.  He had just gotten fully into the character of the prisoner when it was time to leave.

_“Go, go, go!”_

Luka’s breath hitched as he remembered how Anne reacted at the news of a call back.  He stumbled whilst halfway down the stairs in his rush to reach his bike and drew in a shaky breath.

“They’ll find her,” he said with a firm nod “Yes, they’ll find her, I know they will, they have to.”

He sighed again with another firm nod before rushing down to his motorbike to hop on and drive to the theatre to work.  He tried and tried to simply focus on his new job and practice his lines under his breath after reading through the script, however no matter where he looked he was reminded of one thing.  He failed to save her.  He failed to find that car after it drove away.  He failed to act quick enough to stop the driver from taking her away like that.  He failed, he failed, that’s all he was, he was a failure, a pathetic failure, nothing but a failure!

“Shut up!” Luka bellowed as he stopped in the parking lot by the theatre and got a few odd looks as he ripped his helmet off “…Practicing lines.”

A couple of the female onlookers looked flustered at his handsome features and the fact that he was an actor whilst bustling their way down the street.  The male onlookers just glanced at one another before moving on.  Luka sat back with a soft huff, looking up at the clouds above the city, grimacing as he tried to clear his mind.  Everything was going to be alright, it was going to be alright damn it!  So why was he feeling restless?  Sky was going to try and help out with the case and find her.  But he should be going out there too!  He would gladly search the entirety of Gaia just to find her and protect her properly this time.  He just wanted to lock her up from the world and take care of her, after all she was so damn delicate!

That last thought stunned the young actor and a look of mortification crawled onto his face.  How could he think that?!  Poor Anne would absolutely despise that, being treated like a china doll.  Even if it was him, she would never forgive him for locking her up where she wouldn’t be able to even go out unless she was with him.  Luka took in a deep breath and sighed, nodding whilst clearing his mind.  He gathered his thoughts, turned the ignition off, put his helmet away and grabbed his bag.  He entered the backstage doors…

“Luka, it’s been too long!”

Luka’s bag landed behind his feet as Luka stared up at the taller, muscular man before him, his green eyes glinting with sadistic delight and a wide grin plastered on his face.  He spread his arms out for the younger actor as he stepped forward.

“Looks like I’ve found my Prisoner,” he chuckled as Luka’s stomach churned “Come give your Hero a hug.”

Luka’s legs felt paralysed despite his brain telling him to run away, forget about this stupid play, Asa said it was boring, _just fucking run!_

“Morphen…” he uttered in pure horror and Morphen grinned wider if that was possible.

“Luka,” he purred “my Luka.”

* * *

 

Asa lazily flicked his deck of cards to his right hand.  And now to his left.  And back to the right.  Not a card out of place but oh look, is that the seven of hearts tucked into your breasts?  Asa smirked as he leaned over to Chiharu’s side of the table as she read intently from her book and chuckled at her squeak as he plucked the seven of hearts out from her cleavage.

“Don’t do that when I’m reading, how many times have I told you?!” she shrieked and Asa just laughed harder.

“Oh, my dear Chiharu, my cherub,” he cooed as he pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles “I am so distraught and distracted, I couldn’t possibly go on like this my darling, my wonderful, wonderful darling.”

“Nice try but not going to happen.”

Asa drooped and slumped on the table as Chiharu sipped her tea delicately.  He’d been doing nothing but distracting himself with every magic trick he knew.  This morning he woke up with his baby Chocobos nestled under his shirt and in his hair.  Chiharu wasn’t best pleased but she still smiled that angelic smile, shrugged that elegant shrug and soothed him with that sympathetic tone.  She understood what happened, she listened to what he came back, blubbering about being pathetic and not being able to be there to help chase and catch the sicko that caught Anne.  Also he passed out, he actually passed out next to Timber because of the chloroform.  He woke up being carried by a forlorn looking Sky back home who sombrely mumbled what had happened after they suddenly took off after the car.  Asa’s heart dropped when he found out that Anne hadn’t been found and she was just out there somewhere with this creep.

Asa’s cards suddenly spilt out and went all over the floor which made Chiharu huffed.

“Asa, enough with the card tricks,” she said.

Asa pouted as he got down onto his hands and knees and scrambled around to pick the cards up.  He heard his phone vibrate and got up with a groan, answering it.

“Hello?”

“Asa!”

“Luka, buddy,” Asa hissed as he yanked his phone away from his ear and Chiharu smirked “Not so loud this early in the morning…”

“It’s him, it’s him, by Odin, it’s him, Asa!”

“He who what?” Asa murmured as he massaged his temples irritably.

“Asa, you remember what I told you about…you know, about what I talked to you about after you know, the Thalia incident?”

“Oh yeah you said…”

Asa trailed off and Chiharu raised an eyebrow at him questioningly.

“What about it?”

“It’s him!  The Hero, it’s him, it’s him!”

“Wait, hold up, are you saying that…?”

“It’s him, it’s him, oh, Asa, it’s him…”

Asa had never heard Luka sound so…broken.  The older of the two was sobbing pathetically on the other side of the line, possibly on his knees and shaking by the sound of how fragmented his sobs sounded.

“Tell someone…”

“I can’t, I can’t, this guy, he’s so well-respected!  He’s Morphen Yoruba!”

Asa straightened his spine.

“Morphen Yoruba?”

Luka whined.

“The Morphen Yoruba that you had inspired you to take on acting as a career?”

Another pained whine.

“Morphen Yoruba who’s won like twenty acting awards?”

A cough merged in with a sob.

“Asa, don’t you know who Morphen Yoruba is?” Chiharu simpered as she lowered her book “He’s only the most handsome actor who’s graced the stage.  He was in that stage adaption of the Missing Mist that we went to see together last year.  He played…”

“Mikhail and Luka was Tyler!”

Asa jumped up to his feet.

“Shit, buddy, I’m coming over there!  Which theatre is it?!”

“Just b-behind the library, hurry…”

Asa zoomed to his room and zoomed out with clothes flapping loose against his skin.

“Love you, gotta go, friend emergency, really loved breakfast, we should do this again, see you later, lots of kisses, bye!”

Chiharu blinked in confusion before returning to her book.  Asa hurriedly buttoned himself up as he zigzagged down the pavement amongst the normal crowd of people going to work in the morning then stumbled across the road towards the library, looking around in a panic.

“Excuse me, sir, where’s the theatre?” he asked one man who pointed him in the right direction and he sprinted over to the building which had workers putting up the title of the play LOVELESS and sighed.

This was going to take some sleight of hand.

* * *

 

Asa expertly weaved his way through the mass of panicking actors, make-up artists and tech crew whilst balancing a tray of coffee mugs and reaching Luka’s dressing room.  Oh la-di-da, his name was written in gold letters because he got a major role but who was that right in front of…?  Asa held his breath, it was Morphen.  Morphen was lingering outside the door to Luka’s dressing room like a ghost, his fingers brushing across the white wood as he kept talking through it.

“Luka, open up,” he purred softly but it was loud enough for Asa to hear “Let’s learn our lines together!  Then we’ll be able to make the best performance of Loveless yet!  We’ll outshine the Traveller and everyone else then we’ll be scouted for our undeniable chemistry together just like the Missing Mist!  And that will mean we’ll be able to spend more time together and you know what that means…”

Asa heard enough.

“Order of coffee for Luka Kelly, coming through!”

Morphen looked annoyed as Asa swooped in and shoved him aside.

“Sorry, buddy!” he said with the best fake apologetic smile he could muster “Mr Kelly has a strict routine, a strict timetable, his coffee must get to him on time so if you’ll excuse me!”

He rapped on the door sharply.

“Mr Kelly!  Got your coffee!”

Luka opened the door, grabbed Asa by the collar and yanked him in, the coffee mugs falling off the tray and spilling hot coffee on the carpet and on Morphen’s expensive looking shoes.  Asa couldn’t hold back the loud yelp as he was pulled in and landed on the sofa in the dressing room, hearing the door slam and lifted his head to see Luka barricading the door with his body.  They both tensed as Morphen knocked loudly.

“Oi, Luka, who was that?!” he barked and Asa looked at Luka’s horrified, pale face in shock, he had never seen Luka this frightened “Luka!”

Luka squeezed his eyes tightly shut as the handle rattled.

“Mr Yoruba, are you ready to come onstage?”

“Luka,” Asa whispered as he inched forward to the shivering actor “Luka, come here.”

Luka fell to his knees and Asa fell with him, hugging him comfortingly.

“Ssh…” he soothed softly “Ssh…he’s gone now, he’s…”

Asa paled when Morphen opened the door and Luka’s fingers clenched on his shirt.

“…Hi?”

Morphen’s eyes were hardened into a venomous glare at the scene before him and Asa suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

“…Mr Kelly is going through an emotional time at home so please, give us some time to regain his composure…”

“Who do you think you are touching my dear Luka?” Morphen snarled and Luka flinched.

“I’m his personal assistant,” Asa said as he puffed his chest out “Now if you would excuse us kindly, Mr Kelly will need some time to regain himself then he’ll be with you onstage.”

Morphen surged forward but halted as Luka looked up at him.

“Don’t…you…dare…” he whispered softly and Morphen scanned his face before smiling kindly.

“I’m sorry, we got off on the wrong foot,” he purred and Asa’s back bristled but accepted his hand to shake nonetheless “Personal assistant?  I hadn’t realised Luka had changed so much during this past year.  He didn’t leave a number for me to stay in touch.”

Asa stumbled as Morphen yanked him up to his feet with little effort and lightly nudged him to the sofa.  Before he could touch Luka, the younger actor scrambled to Asa’s side and Morphen pouted.

“My, my, gotten quicker?”

Luka let out a slow exhale as Asa sat awkwardly, staring at the man whom Luka claimed to have drugged and raped him.  Morphen sat in the chair by Luka’s vanity and smiled, looking around.

“I’m happy you have landed this big role,” he purred with a soft nod “You’re finally at my level.”

Asa placed a hand on Luka’s back as the silver-eyed man gave Morphen a brief glance then looked out the window.  He rubbed it soothingly as the awkward silence was dragged out a little more before Morphen spoke again.

“I don’t know who the Traveller is but I heard that Jessie Irons is going to be the woman who rescues the Prisoner.”

“She…she normally performs with…with…”

“Biggs and Wedge?  They didn’t make the cut.”

Luka swallowed as he nodded and Morphen sighed.

“Mr…Yoruba, could you please allow us some privacy?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Morphen raised his hands “I only wanted to catch up.”

“Mr Kelly has a strict routine and you’re disturbing it,” Asa pushed on “So please…”

“Luka and I are close,” Morphen purred “I’m sure he can put up with me.”

“Yes, so I heard,” Asa suddenly put on a venomous tone and Morphen raised an eyebrow “To put it bluntly, Mr Yoruba, Mr Kelly is put on edge with your presence and he hasn’t been through his acting exercises yet so I kindly, politely and very civilly ask for you to leave right away or I will have to put in a complaint for Mr Kelly to the director.”

“And who is he going to believe?” Morphen smirked “For an actor’s personal assistant, you aren’t really aware of the rank I hold in the theatre.”

“You are still a human being intruding in another human being’s personal space,” Asa stood and Morphen stood as well to tower over him, making him regret getting into this argument.

“Mr Yoruba, can you please come onstage?” the speaker in Luka’s room bellowed.

Morphen glared at the speaker warily before jabbing a finger into Asa’s chest.

“This isn’t over.”

The younger men watched as Morphen strode out of the dressing room before they collapsed fully, Asa sprawled out on the floor and Luka taking up all the space on the sofa.

“By Odin, shit, Luka,” Asa whispered “Why didn’t you tell me it was a big scary guy like him that did that to you?”

“If I had told you lot it was Morphen Yoruba that did that to me a year ago, would you have believed me?”

Asa glanced at Luka who looked at him sadly.

“This is like a major break for you!” he hissed and Luka just dropped his head onto the back of the sofa “Boring or not, this play will give you a whole aisle of opportunities in your career!  Why is it now that he’s appearing?”

“I know, first Anne getting kidnapped and now this,” Luka growled “Fuck my life.”

He sat up and threw his hands up.

“I have to quit, I need to give this role up.”

“No, you can’t!” Asa barked.

“Asa, he’ll just do it again and maybe he might just kill me like what’s going to happen to Anne!”

“Now don’t you start on that!” Asa jumped to his feet and pointed to Luka who glared up at him “We don’t know for certain about what’s going to happen to her but I can promise you…”

“Can you, Asa?!” Luka bellowed as he sat up “Can you promise me that she’ll come back unharmed?!  Can you promise me she’ll come back alive?!  Can you?!”

A loud knock on the door startled them to silence.

“M-M-Mr Kelly?” the stuttering woman outside whimpered “A-Are you ready to have y-your m-measurements taken?”

Luka let out a short sigh and glanced at Asa who smirked inwardly.

“Yeah, you sound real scary when you get angry,” he chuckled dryly as Luka opened the door.

“I’ll be down in a minute,” he said to the shivering blonde.

He glanced at Asa and mirrored his smirk.

“You should be an actor,” he said and Asa shrugged “Be here when I get back?”

“Luka, I’m your official personal assistant.”

“If you insist, thank you.”

Asa sighed as the door closed and he flopped down on the chair by the vanity.

“What have I gotten myself into?”

* * *

 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, working on it,” Zack grumbled as he leaned on his desk with one elbow whilst writing with his free hand and pressed the phone between his shoulder and ear “Uh-huh.  Yeah, don’t worry, Rotha, we’ll find her, just go do your patrol then you can come and help me with all this…”

THWUMP!

“Whoa!” Zack yelped as he fell off his chair and landed in the sea of papers behind his desk as Sky dumped a large pile of papers on the dark wooden surface.

“Finished, what do I need to do next?” he asked with a serious face as Zack stared up at him with a slack jaw.

“You finished all that in just under an hour?!” he exclaimed as Sky picked up the fallen phone that had Sephirotha’s chattering going on the other side.

“Hello?” he mumbled and Sephirotha asked a couple of questions “He’s literally drowning in paperwork, I think you’ll need to call again another time.  Sounds interesting, it’ll help out, OK, bye.”

Zack was on his feet when Sky hung up and was flipping through the stack of papers before him.

“Every form filled out to every detail!” he exclaimed, his jaw still slack in awe “A couple of spelling mistakes here and there but still, you did this under an hour?!”

“Anything else that needs doing?”

Zack stumbled back a couple of steps, staring at the agitated young man.

“You’re asking for more work?!” he exclaimed with a slightly high pitch.

That turned a couple of heads and Sky grunted as he stretched out his muscular arms.

“I need to stay busy,” he explained whilst pacing around, clenching and unclenching his hands “Oh Shiva, what if she’s found dead in a ditch?!”

“Look, calm down,” Zack side-stepped around his desk to grab Sky’s shoulders “It’s too early to think like that.  You know we’re doing all we can to find her and I promise you, once Rotha has finished her patrol and gets on this case, ain’t nothing stopping her!”

Sky’s eyes watered as Zack sat him down.  The lieutenant glanced at the floor where his papers were scattered and grimaced.

“Well if you really want to be busy then you can help organise this mess?”

In a flash Sky was on his hands and knees, reading, sorting and frowning at the various papers on the floor.  Zack frowned when the phone rang again and he answered it.

“Hello?” he said and sat up “Yes, I am he.  Oh no, what happened?  Uh-huh…uh-huh…so you’re keeping an eye on her then?  Oh yes, yes, it’s fine!  Could I come in later to meet you?  Yeah, she’s friendly to other doctors but I just…get jittery, I hate it that she has to be in the hospital until we can afford her treatment.  Alright, well thank you, Doctor Hewley, is it?  Thanks, I’ll come over after my shift.  Right, bye.”

Sky glanced up at Zack who looked a bit edgy.

“Everything alright?”

“Hm?” Zack glanced at him “Yeah, my girlfriend’s doctor who’s looking after her has fallen into a coma so someone else is filling her in.  His replacement called to update me on her condition and yeah…”

He sighed and hunched over his desk as Sky stood up with a neatly stacked pile of papers in his arms.

“We’re running out of time and I don’t know if we’re going to make enough money to pay for her to get treatment!”

Sky placed the pile on his desk and reached out to squeeze his shoulder.

“You will,” he said caringly “I know it in my gut.”

Zack smiled up at Sky before sighing and glancing down at his floor before jumping in alarm.

“How did you manage to clear the floor so quickly?!” he yelped.

* * *

 

“I was left standing there for hours only to have you call up and come up with some excuse to why you couldn’t come!”

“Sorry,” Erik muttered as he chopped up the carrots whilst Zephyr paced up and down, ranting and raving.

“My friend just got kidnapped!  Wow, your excuses just get more and more inventive!”

“Indeed.”

“It wasn’t even a scary movie, it was just a gore fest, no jump scares, no creepy music, nothing that would even make you jump and cling onto my arm like some kitten!”

“Uh-huh.”

“Honestly, you’re not squeamish, are you?  You fell over so many times and had two bloody knees and a bleeding elbow from rollerblading and you managed to not throw up or faint when we went home.”

“Ah!”

Erik winced as he cut his finger and rushed to the bathroom as Zephyr threw her hands up.

“Drama queen!” she shouted as he quickly put a plaster on his cut “It’s just a little cut!”

Erik stumbled out of the bathroom and looked at Zephyr.

“I didn’t text you after the normal sixteen hours after that date because I was in hospital under observation,” he explained quietly whilst taking the knife to wash “Zephyr, I never really told you this because of your high expectations but I have anaemia.”

Zephyr’s face fell and Erik wobbled past her to grab the newspaper on the table.  He flipped through the pages and pulled out the article which had Anne’s kidnapping case on.

“Anne Lockhart, you met her sister,” he murmured as Zephyr took it to read “She was kidnapped.  Please understand.”

Zephyr looked up at Erik who shifted awkwardly on the spot.

“Have I been too hard on you?” she asked “You never complained…”

“I didn’t want to make you any angrier,” Erik shrugged.

Zephyr placed the article down and hugged him tightly.

“Oh Erik,” she whispered into his neck “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry…”

Erik nuzzled her back before sighing.

“Zeph, could I just spend this day without you?  I need more time to just…absorb this…”

Zephyr pulled away with a hurt look but nodded.

“Yeah, sorry, I just…when going to watch a horror movie with your boyfriend who really doesn’t like them but pulls through to watch them most of the time anyway then he says his friend has been kidnapped?  It’s…”

“Yeah, yeah, I understand,” Erik murmured “Sorry…”

“Don’t be.  Just…don’t be.”

* * *

 

Tifa was a mess.  She should be out there looking for her baby sister!  Her poor sister!  She was out there somewhere, scared, frightened and possibly shivering in a cold basement with little to nothing to wear on her small, frail body!  Scenario after scenario flashed through Tifa’s panicked mind as she paced up and down the apartment, Timber whimpering miserably on the sofa.  What was she meant to do with herself?!  Normally at this time she would be talking to Anne, deciding on what to make for lunch, discussing a route for her to walk for the day with Timber then they’d go out for a while.  Tifa paused by the wardrobe in the bedroom and opened it gingerly to see Anne’s dresses and her tops and jeans.  Her eyes watered and she gasped as the door knocked.

“I’m coming!” she practically screamed as Timber barked eagerly and she ran to the door and threw it open.

“Ah!”

Erik held up the cake above him as Timber barked eagerly, pouncing and nearly knocking the small boy off his feet.

“N-N-No!” he stuttered as Timber sniffed him curiously “Cake i-isn’t g-good for dogs like you!”

Tifa relaxed slowly and smiled softly.

“Timber down,” she commanded and Timber got down, barking happily with his tail wagging enthusiastically.

Erik lowered the cake down and presented it to Tifa shakily.

“Carrot cake?”

Tifa accepted the cake with a happy smile.

“You shouldn’t have,” she said.

“Cooking helps me cope,” Erik shrugged.

“Come in, come in.”

Erik stepped in, tickling Timber’s ears warily who nosed his thigh whilst keeping his eyes trained on the cake.

“Sit down, please,” Tifa smiled “Tea?”

“Please,” Erik smiled as he sat on the sofa.

“I’m expecting company soon,” Tifa smiled “My boyfriend is just visiting one of our friends in hospital then he’s coming round…”

“Oh right should I leave when he comes…?”

“Oh no, you don’t have to,” Tifa shook her head whilst putting the cake down and the kettle on “He’ll need some reassurance from someone other than me.  He was with Sky and…the flirty one when…it happened…”

“Flirty one…?  Oh, Luka!”

Tifa nodded and Erik smiled at Timber who jumped onto the sofa and plonked his head on his lap.

* * *

 

“It’s lovely of you to visit, Cloud.”

Cloud smiled sadly at Aerith who had just a thin layer of hair covering her scalp.  The young girl sighed as she glanced out of the window.

“Dr Hewley is nice, he brings me books when I ask,” she said “He is busy most of the time but it’s fine.  The nurses could be better company.”

“Aerith…”

The young girl just smiled kindly at Cloud and reached out to cup his cheek.

“Hey, proposed to Tifa yet?” she joked and he shook his head.

“So many things are happening, I’m sorry she couldn’t come,” he muttered.

“Oh yes, her sister, I heard it in the news,” Aerith frowned as she let her hand drop and nodded to the blank TV screen “I can’t believe everyone apart from you just stood and watched.”

“Her friends did run all the way down to the storage unit with me on the bike,” Cloud murmured and shook his head “Not a lot of people like to get into other people’s business.”

“A fifteen year old blind girl was kidnapped in broad daylight!” Aerith exclaimed.

Cloud shrugged helplessly as Aerith lay back with an appalled frown.

“It’s Midgar, the city doesn’t have a community as tight as the smaller villages we’ve come from.”

“Still, you’d expect some humans to jump in to help,” Aerith huffed “Who would just watch a man kidnap a young girl just like that in broad daylight?!”

“Who would kidnap a young girl in broad daylight?” Cloud asked sullenly.

He sighed and dropped his head.  Aerith leaned over and placed a hand on his blonde spikes.

“You tried your best,” she soothed.

“My best wasn’t good enough, what if she…?”

“Don’t think of that,” Aerith soothed “Don’t think of that, there are so many things that can happen, just don’t think of the worst case scenarios.”

“Aerith, I…what if…Tifa…?”

“Cloud Strife, you listen to me right now!”

Cloud straightened up as Aerith gave him the motherly glare he all knew too well.

“Anne may come back alive, she may come back in a body bag.  Tifa may be crying tears of relief or tears of grief.  It will be tough on her but she will most certainly not leave you over this drama!”

Cloud hunched his shoulders and sighed.

“I don’t know…”

“I am not sick enough to stop lecturing your ear off!”

“OK, OK,” Cloud smiled as he raised his hands “OK…”

Aerith smiled and reached out to hold his hand.

“Everything alright in here?” Dr Hewley asked as he came in “How are you adjusting to your new room?”

“Oh, it’s wonderful,” Aerith smiled “Thank you so much.”

“I need to get going and see if Tifa’s holding up,” Cloud said as he stood up “Zack’s coming later today.”

“I thought he was working on Anne’s kidnapping?” Aerith frowned.

“He insists that Sephirotha, his colleague, will take care of everything,” Cloud said.

“Sephirotha Hojo?” the doctor perked up “My boyfriend works with her brother, she is a very hard worker.  She specialises in kidnappings.”

“Will she find Anne?” Cloud asked anxiously.

“I can’t give you a full guarantee,” Dr Hewley grimaced “But considering the case from the news, she won’t want to rest until she is found.”

That seemed to put them at look of relief on their faces and Cloud sighed.

“Well, I’ll tell Tifa you said hi,” he said.

“No, I said hello,” Aerith sniffed and the blonde smiled “Now go and don’t worry.  It’ll be alright.”

Cloud nodded uncertainly before leaving.

* * *

 

“And this is the door to the bathroom,” Sephiroth whispered to Anne’s ear as he guided her hand to feel where he had inscribed the braille spelling of bathroom in the door.

Anne shivered in his grip and he pressed a sweet kiss to her head.

“Be careful in here.  I can help you bathe…”

“Please don’t…” Anne whimpered.

“Anne, my dear,” Sephiroth chuckled “You can’t bathe by yourself.  Your sister had to help didn’t she?”

“How can you know that?”

Sephiroth chuckled as he ran his fingers through her hair.

“Mmm, let me brush your hair and tie it up,” he said “Then we can get you dressed.”

“No, no, please, I just want to go home,” Anne pleaded.

“This is your home,” Sephiroth smiled as he guided her to sit by her vanity “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”

“But…”

Anne trailed off as Sephiroth picked up a brush and began brushing the knots out of her long dark hair.

 

* * *

 

Anne clenched the hem of her nightgown as she felt fingers combing through her hair with a brush then tying it up into a ponytail.

“That isn’t too tight, is it?”

“N-No…”

“Good.”

Anne felt lips press themselves to the back of her head and something brush against the back of her neck, something smooth and…silky?  It felt similar to the nightgown she was wearing.

“What did you do?” she asked and Sephiroth just chuckled.

“It’s just a ribbon around your ponytail,” he explained and Anne felt arms encircle her “It’s to make you look beautiful.”

“What’s the point if I can’t see myself?”

Sephiroth laughed and Anne twitched when he kissed her cheek.

“My darling angel, I will be able to see you,” he said “And I wish for you to look beautiful.  You are my precious treasure…if only I can show you off to everyone.”

Anne felt hands direct her face towards a direction and felt cool lips kiss her forehead, her nose and her cheeks.  Those lips had placed themselves all over her head as if they’d belong on her.  It made her feel uncomfortable, she didn’t want to be here.  Where was Tifa?  Where was Timber?  Was this really her fate?  To be trapped here with her only purpose to be ‘pretty’ for this man?

“My Anne.”

“I’m not yours,” Anne couldn’t help but say.

“Yes, you are,” he insisted as his grip on her tightened “You are my Anne, my angel, mine and mine alone!”

Anne whimpered as he pressed another kiss on her head.  She was then pulled into his chest and hugged tightly.  Those lips remained on her forehead and his hands roamed up and down her back.

“How do you like this nightgown?  I designed it just for you.”

“D-Designed?”

Anne suddenly felt cool air hit her back as she realised he was unbuttoning the nightgown from behind.

“What kind of dress would you like to wear?” Sephiroth asked as he kissed her temples.

There were different kinds of dresses?!  Anne felt more and more vulnerable as she was stripped nude and was pulled to her feet.

“Ah…ah…”

But thankfully she felt a bra being helped onto her then some soft, silk knickers slide up her legs.  She was still shaking though and it wasn’t from the cold.

“This will do.”

Anne jumped as fabric brushed against her fingers but she found her way getting into a cotton dress.  Sephiroth hummed in approval once she was fully clothed and cupped her cheeks.

“Beautiful,” he whispered “My darling…”

Anne was shivering more violently and Sephiroth sat her down on her bed.

“Would you like an audio book or one in braille?”

Anne didn’t answer as she edged away from the voice but felt a chest pressed up to her back.

“Or shall I read out loud a book for you?” he whispered into her ear as they lay on their sides (at least Anne assumed Sephiroth was lying on his side to be in this particular position where his arm was around her torso) “There are many books out there that I know you’d love that haven’t been put into braille or been recorded.”

“How would you know?” Anne whimpered and cringed as a delicate kiss was planted on her ear.

“I know a lot of things.”

Anne yelped as she was rolled over and felt herself lying on a chest with hands gripping her hips.

“Don’t worry, my sweet angel,” he whispered to her “You won’t have to live in the darkness forever.”

As his hand stroked her cheek, Anne could only quiver and stare blindly into the abyss that she used to know.


	6. Chapter 6

 

Anne’s stomach felt funny as she was spun around in Sephiroth’s arms.  She clung onto him out of fear of getting hurt, only to hear a happy chuckle.

“My dear, you’re so adorable,” he cooed as he kissed her head “Yes, red is most definitely your colour.  Matches your eyes perfectly.”

Anne was more focused on how strange her head felt.  Was this dizziness?  It was unusual to her, she only ever got dizzy when she was sick and she was only sick one rare occasions.  She let out a confused moan and rested her head on Sephiroth’s shoulder.  At least he stopped moving, Anne felt the slight bounce when he sat down on her bed.  She was on his lap now, enduring his touches and light kisses.  She didn’t enjoy being on his lap, it was uncomfortable and a bit sickening.  It was like she was a doll, being showered in affection, getting dressed up and being pulled around the place.

Anne didn’t know how long she had been here for.  All she knew was that it had been a long time since she found herself here.  It had been so long since she heard Timber bark, feel his long shaggy fur and cuddle him in bed.  She was missing Tifa’s cooking and being with Erik, Luka, Sky and Asa.  She hadn’t felt so alone, helpless or scared before.  All that was in her world now were the cold hands that cradled and petted her like some sort of cat, the voice that praised her ‘beauty’ whatever that was and read her stories on occasion and the lips that would kiss her gently.

“Are you cold?”

Anne shook her head as Sephiroth rubbed a hand on her shoulder.

“Good,” he said “It’s going to start getting chilly soon.  The leaves are beginning to turn colour.”

Autumn was here?  Anne swallowed softly.

“Um…” she murmured, flinching a little as cold fingers brushed some hair and tucked it behind her ear “How long…?”

She paused to try and find the right words.  During her time in Sephiroth’s captivity she sometimes was met with an angry outburst because of something she had said.  He never hurt her but she could hear something breaking and his voice was always raised and fierce.  She mentioned the word ‘kidnap’ and he ‘corrected’ her rather harshly by declaring her had ‘rescued’ her.  Anne always struggled to keep herself from crying, she was scared.  If he heard her whimpers, he would be embracing her, talking to her in a soothing tone and apologising to her.  Anne didn’t want to be here, she didn’t want to be around this man any longer.

“How long…have I been here?” she asked carefully and Sephiroth sighed happily.

“It’s been over a month,” he said as he pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

Over a month…so was it September or October now?  Anne sat still as fingers brushed over her cheeks and a gentle kiss was pressed to her nose.

“How does noodles sound for dinner?” he asked and Anne nodded a little “I’ll make them spicy, just the way you like it.”

Anne felt a few facial muscles twitch on her face.  It disturbed her just how much Sephiroth knew about her.  He confessed to stalking her but how much did he stalk her to know that she enjoyed spicy food?  That her favourite author was Vincent Valentine?  That she liked her tea sweet?  Who would stalk someone to the point that they knew every little detail about them?  Realising she had trailed off after Sephiroth prompted her for an answer, Anne gave him a small nod for an answer.  She heard a happy sigh and received a kiss on her temple.

“I’ll start now, it’s nearly dinner time,” he murmured whilst hugging her “Come, you can watch some television whilst I prepare.”

Anne was picked up again and heard happy humming as she was carried off.  She heard the door open and knew that she was heading towards the soft plush sofa where she normally sat when Sephiroth made dinner.  The cushions were fluffy and the sofa itself felt smooth.  Anne heard the TV being turned on and sat still to listen as Sephiroth’s steps moved away from her.  She began focusing on the nature documentary that was playing and took in a deep breath to soothe herself.  She hated being carried, she decided.  Sephiroth didn’t do it often but today he was in a rather good mood.  Why?  She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know.

Anne began to think about her friends.  They were probably all looking for her.  Were they close?  She hoped so, she felt so lonely here.  Sometimes Sephiroth would leave for ‘work’ whatever that was.  What did he work as?  Clearly a better job than Tifa because everything felt so expensive and Sephiroth always mentioned that she deserved ‘the best’ again, whatever that was.  Anne didn’t know how much time would pass until he was back, she would spend her time listening to audio books.  He always locked her in her room when he wasn’t around.  Like a little canary trapped in a cage.

Anne wanted to leave this place, but how?  Being blind, she couldn’t pull escapes like the characters in the stories she listened to.  And even if she made it outside, what then?  She would still be blind and have no idea where to go next?  What if he found her?  Anne flinched.  He would most likely hurt her, he sounded scary and possessive.  Not to mention extremely creepy.  He always called her names, such as angel, princess, precious, et cetera and it sent crawls up her spine.  She didn’t want to have to sit there and endure those lovesick words that he used to communicate with her.  She just wanted to go home.

Anne began fiddling with the sleeves of her dress and took a deep breath to calm herself down.  Help was on the way, there has to be someone out there looking for her.  She knew Tifa would definitely not rest until she was found and safe.  Poor Tifa, she must be sick with worry.  And Timber must be so miserable without her.  Anne gripped her hands, praying that Tifa and Timber were alright.

* * *

 

Sephiroth hummed as he began making the spicy sauce that Anne seemed to enjoy with her noodles.  He had experimented during the first few weeks with different sauces, all of them spicy because he knew that was her favourite taste with noodles.  This particular one gave him a pleasant reaction for him.  Anne ate the noodles much quicker than the others and her face gave away her fondness.  Sephiroth wanted to see that face more, maybe he could buy the next Valentine book to surprise her.  He wouldn’t let her watch the news, it would remind her too much of her old life.  She needed to move on and think for the future.  Her future.  Their future.

Sephiroth lifted his head and sighed happily, watching as Anne focused on the documentary, her head turned more to the side of the television rather than the actual screen.  It was a nature documentary about Malboros, how daring of the director.  He listened as he cooked, sneaking glances at Anne and smiling dreamily.  How proper she looked, back straight, head faced in the perfect position and her hair was braided around her crown.  She had plenty of hair to play with, Sephiroth’s head was always full of different ideas to style it.  Most of the time, Sephiroth preferred it if it was loose, especially after washing it.  It was so shiny and glossy.

The minutes ticked by as Sephiroth cooked and dished out the noodles.  He walked over to Anne and gently tapped her on the shoulder.

“Dinner’s ready,” he said as he gathered her hands in his then helped her up.

Anne followed him obediently with a neutral face.  Sephiroth walked backwards, not once taking his eyes off her.

“Careful, here’s the step,” he said softly.

The sitting room area was just a circular area with a couple of sofas positioned at a step lower than the kitchen/dining room area.  Beneath the television that was hung up on the wall was an electric fireplace.  The area was carpeted in blue to match the sofas.  After stepping out of the sitting room area, it was just a couple of paces more until reaching the white tiled kitchen area that sported the usual kitchen appliances, fridge, oven, et cetera along with a small table and a couple of chairs to eat at.  Sephiroth rarely ate at that table before Anne came because it lacked the space to sketch, draw and design.

Sephiroth sat Anne down and guided her hands to her fork and bowl then took his seat opposite her.

“Th-Thank you for this food…”

Sephiroth grinned wider.  She was so polite, so meek, so adorable…she was perfection.  They began eating quietly, Sephiroth enjoying watching Anne, especially since he was so close to her.  It felt like nirvana to be so close to his angel and she was acknowledging his presence.  His heart thrummed happily as he reached out to cover her spare hand with his.  He felt her hand jerk back slightly but ignored it, simply running his thumb over her soft skin.

“How is it?” he asked as Anne slurped up the last of her latest forkful of noodles.

“It’s good,” she replied softly.

“Good?”

Anne’s face changed slightly at this.

“I-I really like it,” she said although her face looked like it was the opposite.

“Is it not spicy enough?”

“G-Give it a minute…”

Sephiroth saw that she was breathing in slightly through her mouth, it’s what she normally did to soothe the burning taste.  With a smile, he laced his fingers with hers and continued eating.  Her fingers were so tiny, so cute, so slim…  Sephiroth licked his lips as he squeezed her hand gently.  Maybe he could put them to use later on…?

Nothing else eventful happened during the course of finishing their dinner, treating Anne to a small chocolate snack for pudding and taking her to her room.  He sat down on her bed and had her straddle his lap, smiling at her confused look.

“Anne,” he murmured as he brought her hands to his face.

He melted at her warm touch before raising his hands to thread through her hair.

“Do what I do,” he instructed her and tilted his head at her reluctant look “Please?”

Anne hesitated before threading her fingers awkwardly in his hair once she found it.  Sephiroth shuddered, letting out an audible sigh as her fingertips brushed across his scalp and he dug his fingers a little tighter into her hair.

“Yes, good girl,” he praised as he began loosening her braid.

Anne winced a little but continued to run her fingers through his hair.  Sephiroth got rid of her braid completely then kissed her temple.  He hesitated briefly before taking her hands away and he nuzzled his nose against hers.

“Anne, give me a kiss.”

“Wh-Wh-What?” Anne stammered and Sephiroth nuzzled the side of her head, kissing her cheek.

“Just a little one,” he murmured as he rested his hands on her hips “Not on the lips.  Just a short peck on anywhere else, that’s all I want.”

Anne still looked reluctant but she leaned forward to where his cheek was.  Sephiroth held still as he felt her warm breath on his skin and grinned as she pressed her lips shakily to his cheek.  How adorable.  With a chuckle, he hugged her tight to his chest, laughing louder at her surprised squeak.

“Thank you, my angel,” he purred as he rewarded her with kisses all over her face “Thank you…my darling…”

He then gathered her hands up to press his kisses to her tiny, tiny fingers.  He wanted them to stay this tiny, he wanted his princess to forever be preserved in this state but at the same time he wanted to watch her grow up into a beautiful woman.  Right now, she was just a tiny little bud with its petals just poking out but soon she will blossom into the most breath-taking flower in the garden.  Sephiroth wanted to see every step of her growing up.

Finally halting in his kissing, Sephiroth glanced at the clock on Anne’s bedside table and sighed softly.

“We should get you washed and dressed for bed,” he said and Anne’s whole body froze up “I know, you don’t like it but I’m so worried that you might slip.  But you know I wouldn’t ever take advantage of you.”

He wasn’t sick in the head after all.  Sephiroth led Anne to her bathroom then helped her out of her dress.  Anne began shivering as he helped her out of her underwear then turned the shower on.  As he waited for it to get warm, he saw Anne trying to cover herself and looking very embarrassed.  He smiled softly, it was just too cute for words.  After confirming that the water was at a pleasing temperature, he helped her into the bathtub and let her stand under the spray. 

Then it was his turn to strip but only to his boxers.  Sephiroth stepped into the bath with her and grabbed the shampoo to wash her hair.  He smiled dreamily as suds covered the top of Anne’s head which were quickly rinsed away.  His fingers roamed behind her ears, over her scalp and across the sides of her neck.  Next he used nearly half a bottle of conditioner, Anne did have a lot of hair after all, to thread through the ebony tresses.

“Anne,” he whispered to her “Turn around and hold onto me.”

Again, his angel hesitated but she did as was instructed.  Her hands held his sides firmly as normal but then Sephiroth decided he wanted something different.

“No,” he said gently “Around my body.  The conditioner might make you slip and you could fall.  I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Anne looked very alarmed as she looked up in the direction of his face.  She began shivering but she slowly wrapped her arms around his waist.  Sephiroth then prompted her to stand closer…so that her chest was pressed up against his.  Anne tensed up before he rinsed the conditioner out of her hair and smiled whilst feeling her small breasts pressed up against him.  It was very intimate but very innocent which Sephiroth cherished.  He wanted their ages to freeze so that they could spend eternity like this.  Anne would forever be small, naïve and adorable whilst he stood by her as her guardian.

After getting rid of the conditioner, Sephiroth reluctantly had Anne let go of him and turned her around so he could wash her back.  He gave the soap to Anne after taking what he needed and stroked her back in circles.  It was like a soothing therapy for him, just rubbing her back like this.  It didn’t have to be sexual or dirty, the innocent action itself was enough for Sephiroth to be locked up in his world of fantasy. 

Eventually Anne was washed down and wrapped up in a fluffy towel, sitting on the toilet seat and waiting for him to wash himself.  Sephiroth’s eyes never left her shivering form as he washed himself, purring quietly as he imagined it was her washing him.  He imagined her delicate hands helping him reach every part of him to wash and cleanse.  Thinking about it stirred his arousal and he groaned a little, he should try to think of other things other than _that_.

One quick cold shower later and Sephiroth was helping Anne into the cutest pink nightgown, kissing along her crown gently.  He held her shoulders gently whilst looking down at her, smiling happily.  They stood there for a brief moment until Sephiroth guided her to bed, tucking her in.  Anne didn’t close her eyes just yet as he crossed the room to draw the curtains, hiding the sight of the full moon.  Then he returned to her side, brushing her hair away from her forehead and leaning down to kiss it lovingly.

“Goodnight, sweet princess,” he whispered to her.

Anne shifted a little before eventually replying.

“G-Goodnight…S-Se-Seph…Sephiroth.”

Sephiroth’s heart melted as he kissed her head again before leaving the room, making sure to lock the door behind him.  He swiftly moved to his own bedroom, the one next door and glanced through the one-way window, sighing as he saw his beloved’s reflection through a carefully placed mirror.  Her eyes were closed now as she began to fall asleep.  Sephiroth watched for a few more minutes before going to his drawing desk to finish his latest sketch, his darling in an elegant red dress whilst sitting on a picnic blanket upon a hill on a summer’s day.

* * *

 

“Morphy!”

Morhpen grunted as a small, scrawny body landed on his back.

“Cannabec,” he sighed resignedly to which the younger man grinned a pressed a kiss to his cheek “Finished with lectures already?”

“Yeah,” Cannabec huffed “they are so boring!”

“What are you studying again?”

“Fine Art.”

Morphen snorted to hide his laugh and Cannabec sunk his teeth into his neck.

“It’s not funny!” he protested as Morphen winced very slightly before shrugging him off his back.

“What’s not funny?”

Their heads turned to see a young slim man waltz up to them gracefully, tucking some white hair behind his ear.

“Oh la di da!” Morphen mimicked a posh voice “I am studying Fine Art!”

“It’s not funny!” Cannabec whined as the newcomer simpered behind his hand “Opi!”

“Oh, how many times?” Opitham rolled his eyes “Don’t shorten my name like that.”

“Don’t make fun of my studies!” Cannabec fumed “I’ve got three years left of this!”

“So better get used to it then,” Morphen snickered.

The younger of the three sulked as the final member of their group arrived.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“Oh, just mocking Cannabec’s Fine Art course again,” Opitham shrugged elegantly.

“You should leave him alone,” the tallest of them folded his arms “Cannie is very brave to go through with uni, even if the name does sound…um…leave Cannie alone!”

Cannabec shuffled to hug him and Opitham scoffed.

“You’re never any fun, Hendroid,” he said in a bored tone “I hope we don’t have to go to another fast food restaurant because you’re so stingy with money.”

“Actually, I got these,” Hendroid grinned as he held four vouchers “We can use them for a twenty-five percent discount at that restaurant across from the park here.”

“That one?” Morphen hummed “Never been but we were thinking about it, weren’t we?”

“Indeed,” Opitham nodded “I’ve read some promising reviews about it.”

“Well if it passes Opitham’s approval, let’s go,” Cannabec said as his stomach rumbled.

“Alright, alright,” Morphen laughed as the four brothers began to cross the park towards the promising looking restaurant.

They entered through the doors and a young slim boy with silver hair and green eyes behind his glasses greeted them.  Morphen’s eyes were immediately checking him out as he cleared his throat.

“T-Table for four?” he stuttered shyly with a kind smile.

“Yes,” Hendroid grinned.

“Right this w-way.”

Morphen’s mouth was growing dry as he watched the young waiter stumble a little before showing them to their table and laying out four menus for them.  Opitham and Hendroid spoke about something but he just focused on this adorable waiter.  He was the youngest of the waiters it seemed after a quick scan through the staff in the area.  His eyes sought out the glittering name badge and he grinned wider because of how adorable it sounded. 

“Morphen?” Opitham prompted from across the table, breaking him from his trance “Do you want to order straight away?”

“We’ve already ordered your carbonated water, don’t worry,” Cannabec grinned and Morphen glanced at the menu in his hands.

“Hm…” he hummed before grinning at the waiter “What would you recommend?”

He didn’t need to turn his head to see Opitham roll his eyes.

“W-W-Well,” the waiter stuttered for a moment before clearing his throat “Our special this week is our chili lamb kebabs…”

“Oh, lovely,” Hendroid licked his lips “I’d like those then!”

Opitham wrinkled his nose when he heard the dish as the waiter scribbled down the order.  Morphen tutted, wagging his finger.

“I didn’t ask for the special,” he said, holding back a smirk as the young man trembled “I asked for _your_ personal recommendation.”

He leaned forward slightly and the waiter stepped back slightly.

“Well…?”

“A-a-a-ah, uh, um, well…”

The waiter looked like he was being interrogated as he fumbled with his words.  He swallowed heavily and looked down at his shoes, mumbling something.

“What was that?” Morphen prompted and the waiter stood up a little straighter.

“Our T-T-T-T-bone st-steaks are quite popular and i-i-it’s my p-p-p-p-p-personal favourite dish!” he stuttered and Morphen grinned widely.

“Good boy,” he purred as he handed the menu to him “I’ll have that.”

The waiter’s hands never stopped shaking as he took down the other orders and retreated to the kitchen.  Morphen winced as Opitham gave him a perfectly aimed kick into his shin.

“You shouldn’t bully him like that!” he said sternly as the oldest brother rubbed his shin tenderly.

“But he’s so adorable,” Morphen pouted.

“I thought you were going to go after our little wolf?” Hendroid tilted his head with a fond smile “Since you know, you’re in another production together with him.”

Morphen sighed tiredly.  He really wanted to have more fun with Luka but his damn ‘assistant’ was pretty much glued to his side so the only time when Luka is not with him is onstage.  Luka was always quick to leave after the work hours had finished too therefore there was never any time to even squeeze in a quick hello to him.  Morphen leaned back as he thought back to Luka’s assistant.  He narrowed his eyes.

“I mentioned this new assistant of his, didn’t I?” he said to which the brothers nodded “I think it’s an act.”

“You think?” Opitham raised an eyebrow.

“Luka isn’t a prominent actor quite yet so I don’t understand why he would need an assistant,” Morphen narrowed his eyes “I believe he actually knows what happened last year.”

Everyone at the table stiffened.

“Preposterous,” Opitham huffed “You said he wouldn’t tell anyone because he would be severely scarred!”

“He probably didn’t tell him straight after…that night,” Morphen cupped his chin thoughtfully.

“Morphen,” Opitham leaned in closer and lowered his voice “You haven’t…forced yourself onto anyone else?”

“Luka was the only one, everyone else practically just falls into my bed.”

Morphen tossed his hair with a smug smile and winced as Opitham kicked him in the shin again.

“It’s none of my business with what you do,” the second eldest brother narrowed his eyes “But I don’t want to see you locked up because of your insatiable desires.”

“Mainly your fault with your job,” Morphen pointed to Opitham “your new business,” then to Hendroid “and you in uni.” Cannabec.

“Morphen, I need to work hard to keep this job,” Opitham looked beyond annoyed “It was hard enough to get into Rhapsodian Fabrics, you should understand!”

Morphen sat back, sulking as Hendroid and Cannabec nodded.

“I really need to throw myself into this, Morph,” Hendroid said “I don’t know what else I can do.”

“And uni isn’t exactly a walk in a park, I need to focus.”

Morphen pouted like a spoilt child but it was quickly wiped away.

“No, not now.”

“I’m here now, just say what you wanted to talk about!”

They all glanced over to the voices as the waiter came back with their drinks and a young woman was behind him.

“I said to meet me after my shift which ends in about an hour,” the waiter muttered softly as he hastily placed the drinks on the table.

“No, tell me now!”

The waiter blushed and flinched as more people began watching them.  Morphen observed the flicker of emotion behind his glasses with interest and the waiter suddenly grabbed the young woman by the wrist.  Morphen watched as they crossed by the window they were at.

“Cannabec, can you still see them?” he murmured.

“Morphy, we should…”

Cannabec jumped at Morphen’s look and glanced out of the window.

“They’ve stopped,” he reported as Hendroid turned his head to look down the street as well “talking…well, shouting it looks like, that waiter doesn’t look very happy.  Girl isn’t happy either.  Getting heated, ah, wait no, he’s coming back!”

Cannabec looked away hastily as Morphen saw the waiter come passing by again then Cannabec snuck a glance out of the window.

“She looks very upset, I think she’s going to cry soon.”

Morphen smirked and yelped as Opitham slammed his boot into his toe.

“Morphen, really!” he hissed as Morphen brought his foot up to rub it “I had more respect for you!”

“Need I remind you about what you did to get back at your second boyfriend?” Morphen snarled and Opitham scoffed.

“It was well deserved and personal,” he tossed his hair “this on the other hand?  These are strangers, don’t stick your nose into it!”

“Opi…” Morphen pouted and Opitham glared at him intensely “Sorry, Opitham…he’s adorable.”

“Yes, I know, but I highly doubt that he’s interested in men considering she’s most likely, or was most likely, his girlfriend!”

Morphen clicked his tongue and wagged his finger.

“You underestimate me,” he purred before picking up his carbonated water.

It took about half an hour until the waiter came with their dishes, looking very sullen but tried to hide it with a hospitable smile.  Fifteen minutes later, Opitham ordered coffee whilst Hendroid and Cannabec split a cheesecake between them.  Morphen didn’t have anything, just watched the waiter thoughtfully.

“Ugh,” Opitham placed his coffee mug down “This coffee is horrendous, I expected much better.”

Morphen lifted his head at Opitham then glanced at the waiter as a plan formed in his head.  Taking a pen and a napkin, he scribbled down his number.

“Opitham, it’s just my number,” he said as he made eye contact “All you have to do is pretend to spill your coffee so he’s distracted.”

Opitham narrowed his eyes but eyed his coffee thoughtfully.

“Alright but I still want no part in what you plan to do.”

Morphen waved for the bill and the waiter came over.  Opitham played his role quite nicely.

“Oh!”

The waiter jumped as Opitham swept his coffee off the table ‘accidentally’ and it landed on his shoes.

“Oh dear!” Opitham exclaimed as the waiter bent down to pick the cup and saucer up “I’m so sorry, how can I be so clumsy?”

“It’s qui-ALP!”

Morphen covered his mouth quickly to hide his smirk.  That yelp was just too cute.  The waiter slipped and landed on the floor with red cheeks, napkin awkwardly in place in his back pocket.  After a few minutes of getting the bill, showing the vouchers and watching the young man take away the coffee cup and saucer, Morphen managed to dodge another kick from Opitham.

“Do you have no decency?!”

“I couldn’t help myself,” Morphen pouted as he remembered the quick grope he snuck in “It’s just too perfect…”

“It’s too small,” Opitham sneered as he placed his share of the money and Morphen chuckled “Tch, you don’t even know his name and yet you still…”

“You’re wrong there,” Morphen smirked proudly as he thumbed the notes in his wallet before placing down his share.

“Oh?”

Opitham raised a disbelieving eyebrow and Morphen leaned in.

“I saw it on the nametag.  His name is Erik.”

* * *

 

Erik practically collapsed on the seat by the usual booth of the café, undoing his top button to get some air and sighing heavily.  Cissnei placed his mocha in front of him with a sympathetic smile.

“How did it go?” she asked and Erik grimaced.

“More smoothly than I had anticipated,” he said with raised eyebrows.

He had broken up with Zephyr.  He was still just processing it.  With trembling fingers, he circled the rim of his cup, not brave enough to pick it up just yet.  Cissnei was called away as he remembered the bitter memories.  His feelings for Zephyr…just slowly evaporated the more she pushed him.  It was just better for her to be able to find a real man.  Because he was just a little boy, a little sick boy who doesn’t know where to go next.

Sky was getting fully involved with his work experience, Luka was working hard on his play, along with Asa apparently and he was keeping himself occupied by working at his father’s restaurant.  Erik slowly looked at the empty seat next to him, where Anne would normally be.  How long had it been?  Erik placed a hand over the seat, feeling the depression settling in again.  Where was she?  Was she safe?  Alive?  She must be so scared.  Erik closed his eyes and sighed, a few tears slipping down his cheeks.

“Is this seat taken?”

Erik opened his eyes and jumped.

“Ah-you, customer!” he exclaimed then shook his head “No, shift ended, you finished too…”

His head was just a whirlpool of random words at this point.  The older man laughed as he sidled up to Erik, sitting in Anne’s place.  Erik wanted to point that out but held his tongue, cupping his mocha silently.

“See ya later then, Morph!”

“Sure, bye!” Morph waved to the three other men that were with him as they left and sipped his coffee.

What was he doing here?  And why was he so close?

“I’m Morphen by the way,” he introduced himself “Erik.”

Erik nearly jumped so high to hit the ceiling.

“Wh-Wh-Wha-What?!  How, I-uh…”

Morphen laughed and tapped a finger on the nametag on his shirt.  Erik stared at it dumbly then took it off.

“So yeah…hi?”

Morphen smiled slightly then tilted his head.

“Gil for your thoughts?” he asked as he wiped a tear away from his face.

Erik hiccupped and his bottom lip wobbled.

“I-I…breakup.”

“Ah,” Morphen pursed his lips “that’s rough.  Messy?”

“I w-w-wouldn’t call it th-that…” Erik stammered as he focused on his mocha.

Morphen sighed.

“Her loss, I suppose,” he shrugged.

“No, not really…” Erik hung his head.

“Nonsense.”

Erik blinked as Morphen hooked a finger under his chin and turned his face towards him.

“Look at you, quite the catch.”

“N-N-No, I’m n-n-not!” Erik stuttered as he felt the other man’s gaze burning into him “I’m j-ju-just…”

His eyes wandered down and Morphen tilted his head further to meet his gaze again.

“Just?” he prompted.

Erik swallowed as tears brimmed his eyes again.

“Trash.”

Morphen scoffed as he took away his finger from under Erik’s chin and reached out to stroke a lock of his hair.

“I have a saying,” he said as Erik’s eyes dropped down to the space between them “One woman’s trash can be another man’s treasure.”

“Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh…?”

“MORPHEN!”

The two turned their heads as Luka slammed his hands on the table and Asa did his best to restrain him.

“Luka, buddy, down!” he said shakily as Erik cowered at the fierce look Luka had in his eyes.

“Oh?” Morphen raised an eyebrow at them “Do you mind?  I’m busy here…”

“Busy bullying my friend?!” Luka snarled as Asa managed to stop him from flying across the table “I swear, if you’ve hurt him…!”

“Friend?” Morphen echoed as he turned to Erik.

Erik nodded frantically and Morphen looked a little surprised.  He glanced at Luka again before leaning closer to Erik.

“Check your back pocket,” he whispered as Luka’s actions got more aggressive “I’m a very good listener.”

And with a wink and a smirk, he was gone.  Erik looked stunned for a moment as Asa and Luka sandwiched him in the booth.

“Are you alright?”

“Did he hurt you?”

“How bad is it?”

“I’ll make him pay for making you cry.”

“Ah, no, it’s not him!” Erik exclaimed “No, I broke up with Zephyr!”

Both boys looked very surprised at this before giving Erik some space.

“Oh,” they said dumbly before looking sympathetic.

Erik fumbled with his fingers before looking up at Luka.

“You know him?” he muttered and Luka grimaced.

“…He’s the Hero in Loveless,” he explained and Erik’s jaw dropped in awe.

“But, he has a reputation,” Asa quickly said “That’s why Luka got a bit…worried.”

“Worried, it looked like he was going to commit murder on the spot…” Erik frowned softly.

“Black coffee for me, Ciss,” Luka waved his hand as Cissnei went by.

“O-Ok…” Cissnei nodded as Asa asked for a drink as well.

Erik noticed that Asa had left space for Anne between them out of habit so placed a hand over it.  Luka noticed this and glanced at the booth opposite them suspiciously.

“Have you noticed that he hasn’t been here for a while?” he asked and they glanced at him “That fashion designer person who was following Anne.”

“I don’t know, maybe it was just a coincidence that he was following her?” Erik murmured.

“No, I saw him being very close to Anne.”

Luka and Erik looked at Asa sharply as he grimaced.

“It was…when I was getting some groceries for Anne,” he said and met Luka’s eye who clenched his fist, nodding understandingly “He was just…there but he left when I came out.”

“He couldn’t have kidnapped her though,” Erik piped up and jumped as Luka glared at him angrily “Ci-Cissnei confirmed his al-alibi, he was here in the café when it happened, ri-right?”

Luka’s knuckles cracked as Cissnei returned with their black coffee.

“Still…”

Sky never turned up, so they left after they finished their drinks.  Erik headed straight home and fell onto his bed.  He wanted to go straight to sleep there but he didn’t.  So he tried changing into his pyjamas and burrowed under the blankets.  Still no sleep could be found.  With a sigh, he sat up and glanced at the clock.  It was about half past eight so it was still early. 

_“Check your back pocket.  I’m a good listener.”_

Erik leaned over his bed to take his trousers and fumbled in the back pockets.  He blinked in surprise as a napkin slid out with a number and Morphen’s signature underneath.  He stared at it blankly and nibbled his tongue thoughtfully.  Should he?  Should he not?  Whether he wanted to or not, his hand somehow got a hold of his phone and he was pushing the number in.  His thumb hovered over the call button as he stared at the numbers blankly.  Maybe it would do him some good to vent about Zephyr and Anne’s kidnapping?  He was willing to listen.  And he certainly didn’t want to put any more stress onto Luka and Asa who were also upset about Anne and had their own problems.

He pressed the call button.  He didn’t need to wait long.

 _“Hello, Erik,”_ Morphen purred.

“H-How?”

Morphen chuckled.

_“I had a feeling you would call this evening.”_

Erik stuttered again before pulling his knees into his chest.

_“So tell me anything, Erik.  I’m all ears.”_

* * *

 

Sephiroth walked into Anne’s bedroom with her breakfast.  He sat down on the side of the bed, placing the tray on her bedside table.  He leaned over and brushed some hair out of her face, kissing her forehead.

“Good morning, my angel.”

Anne stirred, her eyes fluttering open.  Sephiroth smiled as he cupped her face.

“Did you sleep well?”

Anne nodded slightly as he helped her sit up straight.

“I have to go to work today,” he said as he set the tray on her lap “I’m sorry you’ll be all on your own but I’ll be as quick as I can.”

He used the spoon to break the boiled egg and dipped one of the toast soldiers into the yolk.

“Ah.”

Anne opened her mouth when he prompted her and bit off the end.  She ate slowly as he watched her.

“How is it?” he asked and Anne hunched her shoulders.

“It’s good,” she replied meekly and Sephiroth smiled warmly.

Soon all her breakfast was gone and Sephiroth took the tray away.  He then helped Anne get dressed and pressed her cane into her hands.  Anne took it, looking pretty sullen.

“I know, I’m sorry,” he soothed as he pressed a kiss to her head “I would rather much prefer to stay here with you.  But work is work.”

He placed the tape player on her table with three audio books around it.  He then guided her to sit down at her table and cupped her face.

“I’ll be back by lunchtime,” he promised her.

Anne nodded in acknowledgement as he kissed her cheek then left, stealing one last glance before closing and locking the door.  He breathed a deep sigh before crossing the threshold, taking his sketchbook with him.  He didn’t want to leave Anne by herself but at the moment, a pet would be troublesome.  Being blind, Anne wouldn’t be able to take care of it properly so it would have to wait until she was given sight.

Sephiroth smiled to himself as he locked the front door and went over to his car.  He would be the first thing she could see.  And she’ll fall even more in love with him.  Sephiroth imagined sharing their first kiss together.  It would be wonderful, chaste and innocent.  Nothing to sully the perfect moment, it would be just the two of them showing their love for one another.  His heart swelled in anticipation and he closed his eyes.  Just four more months, he thought to himself, four more months.  Time was passing all too slowly for him.

Starting the engine, he began reversing out of his driveway and headed towards the main road.  It was just a quick job, drop off his designs, have Genesis assess them and then he should be done.  Then he can get Anne a present from the city, she would love that.  Anne loves being spoiled although she doesn’t show it.  Sephiroth was always very happy to gift her with trinkets.  Maybe he could find something special today.  Something so special that she will smile and thank him.  Sephiroth grinned.  He looked forward to it.

* * *

 

Anne sat there, listening to Sephiroth’s car driving off and clenched the cane in her hands.  She hated this thing.  It was cold, unfeeling and horrible.  She wanted Timber, she wanted to be able to run her hands through his fur and feel his wet nose.  Timber loved her and she loved him.  This cane in her hands could care less if she was in this situation.  The urge to swing this cane or throw it away was strong but the more Anne thought about it, the more she thought about what Sephiroth might do.

She let the cane fall out of her hands and it landed with a soft thud.  With a grimace she stood up, hands out in front of her and began to shuffle along the carpet to look for the bed.  It wasn’t long until she found it and curled up into a pitiful ball, sobbing.  She wanted to go home.

* * *

 

Genesis looked rather sullen as he looked at his computer.  Sephiroth came in with his sketchbook and tilted his head.

“Genesis?” he prompted and his friend sighed as he sat back and looked at him.

“This news about the poor girl who got kidnapped,” he said with a forlorn look “Blind and fifteen years old!  Who would target such a young, vulnerable girl?”

“Don’t ask me,” Sephiroth snorted as he sat in front of the desk and presented his sketch book “Here.”

“Oh, thanks, right,” Genesis began looking through the designs when there was a knock on the door “Come in!”

“Mr Rhapsodos, sir?”

Genesis and Sephiroth glanced up to look at the newcomer.

“And you are?” Genesis frowned softly “I’m sorry, names aren’t my forte.”

“Opitham,” Opitham smiled gracefully “Yes, well, there’s this girl who wants to have work experience here and your secretary seems to have gone AWOL…”

“Oh, not again!” Genesis threw his hands up in the air “That bloody woman!  Ugh, just have her wait in the lobby, I’ll get to her when I’ll get to her…”

“Alright then,” Opitham nodded “Sorry to have disturbed you…”

“Oh wait, actually!” Genesis suddenly exclaimed “Yes, you’re the newest model, aren’t you?”

“Naturally,” Opitham shrugged with one shoulder.

“Sephiroth, I think this one might finally prompt you to design some male clothing,” Genesis said as he waved Opitham in.

Sephiroth eyed him up and down, hiding his scowl.  He only designed clothes for Anne.

“Really?” he drawled as Genesis got up and began adjusting Opitham into different poses.

“Look at him, face is a bit feminine but he really pulls off a sophisticated male look!” Genesis looked excited “Please, Sephiroth, my other designers haven’t come up with a suitable collection for this season and you’re my best one!”

“Genesis, I don’t know,” Sephiroth sighed as he eyed Opitham again.

“Sure, he looks like a tomboyish lesbian,” Genesis ignored Opitham’s annoyed look “But he’s got a very inspirational look around him!  At least try for me?”

Tomboyish…  Sephiroth began picturing Anne in men’s clothing.  He clicked his tongue before shrugging.

“Give me a week, I’ll come up with something,” he said.

“Wonderful!” Genesis exclaimed and Opitham smiled.

“I look forward to modelling your work,” he said a little flirtatiously.

“As do I,” Sephiroth nodded as Opitham left.

 

* * *

 

“What do you mean we don’t have enough to fund our resources?!”

Heidegger stared Sephirotha down as the police officer glared at him furiously.

“I worked it all out!  We’ve got enough to look…”

“To look for dead ends,” Heidegger scoffed “It’s just another one of those cases, I’m afraid.”

“No!” Sephirotha shrieked and got several stares from her colleagues “No, it’s not just another one of those cases, sir!  This poor girl is underage and blind!  BLIND!”

“It’s been a month, do you have any leads?”

Sephirotha set her jaw and glared at the Chief of Police.

“Whether I do or not, is not important…” she murmured.

“It is if you plan to waste resources chasing wild Chocobos!” Heidegger boomed and Sephirotha clenched her fists.

“I have a hunch…”

“Oh a hunch!” Heidegger laughed mockingly “One of Rotha’s famous hunches!  Tell me, when have they ever worked out?!”

Sephirotha glared at him furiously as he turned his back.

“It doesn’t matter anyway,” he scoffed “She’s probably dead by now.”

A loud thud was heard and Sephirotha turned her head to see Sky staring at Heidegger after dropping his stack of paperwork on the floor.

“Don’t say that…” he murmured as Heidegger turned his head to glance at him “Don’t say that about her…”

“Sky, it’s alright, I’ve got this,” Sephirotha said slowly.

“No, she’s not dead…she can’t be!”

Sky lunged forward and Sephirotha managed to seize him just in time before he could attack Heidegger.

“Sky, calm down, it’s alright!” Sephirotha cried as her boots skidded across the floor as she struggled with him.

“She’s not dead, don’t say that!” Sky yelled furiously “You don’t know!”

“Who’s this then?” Heidegger asked as he walked over until he was just out of Sky’s reach.

“He’s close with her, sir,” Sephirotha grunted.

“Oh, the victim?”

“Don’t call her that!” Sky bellowed.

“He’s here for work experience, Officer Fair normally supervises him but he took the day off…”

“Oh ho!”

Heidegger laughed as he regarded Sky.

“I hope he considers applying to the force,” he said “I see a lot of promise in him.”

Sky gnashed his teeth as Sephirotha struggled with him more to make sure he didn’t bite the older man.

“Come on, Sky,” she grunted as she managed to haul him out of the station “Let’s go for a drive!”

In the end she had to handcuff him before strapping him down in the passenger seat of her patrol car.  Sky was still struggling furiously as Sephirotha got into the driver’s seat, sounded the siren and sped through the streets.  _That_ calmed him down a bit as the fear of crashing into something took over.  Sephirotha smirked.  Works every time. 

After some time they were speeding down the countryside and Sephirotha turned off down a dirt road.  They reached the top of a hill where Sephirotha turned the engine off and got out.  She took the cuffs off Sky and let him out to stretch his legs.

“I always come here if I need to calm down,” she said as Sky plopped down on the grass.

Sky sighed as he looked over the meadows, trees and roads that he could see until the horizon.

“…Wow,” he murmured “I don’t think I’ve ever been outside the city before.”

Sephirotha chuckled as she sat with him.

“Really?”

Sky nodded and Sephirotha looked out into the countryside.

“Do you want to know why I wanted to become a police officer?”

“Sure,” Sky nodded “Anything to keep my mind occupied.”

Sephirotha smiled as she sat back with a wistful look.

“I was fourteen,” she began “My father, my brother and I were at the bank when these masked robbers stormed in, waving their guns around.  I was taken as a hostage to ensure that they got the money.”

“No,” Sky whispered in shock as Sephirotha nodded.

“I happened to be the nearest to them and I was a pretty easy target,” she grimaced “I was much shorter back then and not as strong.  To them, I was probably like a ragdoll, easy to pull around and hold up as a shield.”

“Rotha…” Sky looked stunned “I can never imagine you in such a position.”

“I know,” the policewoman grimaced “I changed a lot over the years but everyone does.  It was sixteen years ago anyway…”

She sighed and hugged herself, remembering the horrible memory that she had to go through.

“They demanded at least a hundred million Gil, I remember that much,” she said “They kept on threatening to kill me, a young teenage girl who was still deciding about what to do about her future.  I remember the barrel being pressed to my head so many times, I’m surprised I don’t have a mark there.  I was scared, what if the staff didn’t comply and they ended up shooting me in the head?”

She rubbed the side of her head thoughtfully.

“They shot my brother,” she grimaced “He tried to save me but they shot him right in the shoulder.  I was so afraid, I could smell his blood, I began picturing my dead body out on the floor, I began to cry.  What if he got up and tried again only to be shot dead?  What if I did something wrong to aggravate them and have them shoot me dead?  My father…he was probably scared too because he wasn’t doing anything, just sitting and waiting for them to just finish this robbery.  They got the money eventually but they didn’t stop there.”

“They didn’t let you go?”

Sephirotha shook her head.

“To ensure that they wouldn’t get followed, they took me with them,” she murmured, her hands trembling “My hands got tied up…and I was blindfolded, very tightly.”

Sky watched as Sephirotha bowed her head.

“I was so terrified,” she whimpered “I was in the dark, surrounded by these men shouting at one another, hands gripping my arms and pushing me, saying these…leery things at me but thankfully they didn’t actually…take advantage of me.  I don’t know how long I was in that car for.  They kept on driving, making sure that there wasn’t anyone following them.  I remember getting bruises because they were going so fast and turning the corners so sharply, I was worried that they would crash.  The next thing I know, I’m being pushed out onto grass and the car is going away.”

She looked down at her hands.

“I was all alone, I couldn’t move my hands, I couldn’t see, it was so terrifying,” she whispered “I was somewhere unknown, in the dark and I tried to call for help.  I wanted to go back home, I just wanted to see my family again.  I wanted to be found and to be taken back home safely.  Those kinds of thoughts were just swirling in my head and I called and called and called but I got no answer.  I got scared, what if the wrong sort of person found me?  What if a monster found me?  I eventually blacked out.  I wasn’t found until early the next morning.”

She turned around and pointed to one of the trees.

“A dog walker found me curled up under there asleep,” she explained as Sky stared at it in disbelief.

She turned to look at Sky.

“I know how your friend must be feeling,” she explained “That’s why I don’t want to rest until she’s found.”

Sky’s eyes softened.

“But…the funds…” he murmured and Sephirotha cursed Heidegger under her breath.

“Sky, I’ve always been good with money,” she said with an angry look “No funds to use on resources?  I don’t believe him for one second, I did the maths myself, we had enough for at least another month.”

Sky lowered his head and hunched his shoulders.

“What can we do?” he asked and Sephirotha sighed.

“We use what we get given,” she shrugged “Either that or get the money ourselves but I can’t ask my family for it.”

“You can’t?”

Sephirotha glanced at him.

“My parents work hard to support themselves and I always have to do something to compensate my brother if I ask for his help.”

Sky frowned and sat up.

“That’s unforgivable,” he growled “If my sister asked me…”

“Everyone is different,” Sephirotha sighed “I love my brother and he loves me but he’s just the guy who only acts if it’s to his advantage.”

“That’s very selfish of him!” Sky snarled and Sephirotha shrugged.

They sat for a while, staring at the scenery until Sephirotha tilted her head to nudge Sky.

“This kidnapping is very fishy,” she whispered with a thoughtful look “I mean, there was no ransom note…”

“Not that Tifa would be able to afford paying a ransom…” Sky sighed and Sephirotha clicked her tongue, nodding.

“I don’t want to think about any other reasons for the kidnapping but who would be vile enough to use her as a…a…”

Sephirotha shook her head furiously as Sky clenched his knuckles.

“He better had not hurt her,” he growled “To do that to Anne…”

He shook his head, gritting his teeth and Sephirotha narrowed her eyes at the scenery.

“Wanna shout out at it?” she smiled and Sky took a deep breath.

* * *

 

Anne jolted awake as she swore she heard someone call her name.  She froze, ears open to try and locate the source of the voice but nothing else could be heard.  Nothing else…but the sound of a car approaching.  How long had she been sleeping for?  She rubbed her eyes, they felt sore and her tears were dried up on her face.  She paused in horror.  She had tears on her face!  Panic seized her heart as she began rubbing her face, desperate to get rid of any evidence that she had been crying.  She had to or else he’ll be all over her, asking why she had been crying.

The lock clicked in her bedroom door and she fell back onto the bed to make it look like she was sleeping.  Not that it would work.  Anne swallowed as she felt the bed dip.

“Wake up, my princess,” he whispered in her ear and gently shook her shoulder “I got you a present.”

Presents, he always seemed to be giving her them.  Jewellery, clothes, shoes and other trinkets that seemed to feature in romantic stories.  He took her hand in his and she followed him out of her bedroom.

“Did you enjoy the audio books?” he asked.

Anne nodded and jumped when they suddenly stopped.  Sephiroth’s fingers were on her cheeks.

“Have you been crying?”

“No!” Anne yelped as she shook her head.

“Ssh…don’t lie,” he murmured “Your eyes are bloodshot.”

Anne whimpered as Sephiroth’s hands cupped her cheeks.

“What were you crying about?”

“I wasn’t…”

“Don’t lie, please don’t lie, my darling…”

“I’m not your darling!”

It just came out.  Suddenly Anne realised that Sephiroth was going to lose his temper soon…and she was right in his line of fire.

“I’m sorry!” she cried as she stepped away and fell over.

“Don’t be sorry, Anne,” he tried to soothe her as she began scrambling away from him.

“Don’t hurt me, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” she whimpered, gasping as she nudged something with her back.

“Anne, watch out!”

Anne heard something fall off the table behind her and the back of a hand touched the top of her head.

 

* * *

 

Sephiroth breathed heavily as he caught the paperweight that nearly hit Anne on her head.  He put it aside and embraced her tightly.

“Oh, my princess,” he whispered, kissing her head “My angel, that was close.  Oh…Anne…”

He squeezed her tightly, he had been so afraid.  What if it had cracked her skull?  What if she had suffered brain damage from that?  What if she had died?  Rocking her back and forth, he kissed her forehead tenderly.

“It’s alright, everything is alright, don’t worry,” he murmured before gathering her in his arms.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Anne was repeating over and over as he carried her over to the sofa and sat her down.

“Don’t be, my sweet, don’t be,” he whispered, kissing her face “You must have been tired and confused, yes…that’s right.”

His Anne would never have said that.  His Anne was a good girl.  His Anne loved him as he loved her.  Something must have spooked her is all.  Maybe she was just crying because something upset her with the audio books.  Yes, that’s the only logical explanation.  The only possible explanation…

“Wait here,” he murmured as he went to the shopping bag on the kitchen table.

He took out a book and returned to his princess’s side.  He placed the book down and brought her into his lap, smiling as he cradled her to his chest.

“I got you a book,” he whispered to her “The braille version and audio book haven’t been released yet but I know how much you love this author.”

Anne lifted her head.

“You…got…” she murmured.

Sephiroth smiled at her curious expression.

“Yes, I got Vincent Valentine’s new novel,” he said “The Corpse Screamed at Midnight.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“I’ll read the first chapter to you and then we can have lunch, alright?” he said to her “Good.”

He opened the book and let Anne shift to a more comfortable position on his lap and began reading.


End file.
